Homeworld2: Interstellar Odyssey
by atmawpn
Summary: Peace is never eternal, just a calm before the next storm. As the War of the Ancients spills over into the Present, the Hiigarans and their allies must take up arms once again. Sequel to Wrath of the Gods. Now DEFUNCT due to Divinity rewrite.
1. Prologue: New Era

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**PROLOGUE: WRATH OF THE GODS – NEW ERA

* * *

**

Karan's passing shook the Hiigarans down to their very cores, for she had done so much for the people she loved, the place she called home.

It had all begun with an urgent situation regarding the Mothership's computers, whose woes were solved with Karan's brave volunteering to become its living core. Neither she nor her people had expected a tumultuous struggle for survival to follow. The destruction of Kharak forced her to unite the Exiles' spirits as she led them in a war across the galaxy, a war for Hiigara.

A war for their Homeworld.

Even after Hiigara was reclaimed, many troubles remained. Countless lives were lost in the subsequent Imperial invasions, a result of the galactic civil war that had fractured the old Empire. The Galaxy's very existence was then threatened by the techno-organic virus known as the Beast.

And then the End Time arrived.

The Vaygr put all previous wars to shame as they swept across the Galaxy, invincible and unstoppable with their Third Core. Once again, Karan took up the task of uniting the Hiigaran people in an epic voyage through the most ancient and unexplored regions of the Galaxy. Her courageous leadership allowed the Hiigaran Navy to triumph both at Balcora and the final battle over Hiigara.

Yet the _Eye of Aaraan_, thought to be a tool of peace, turned out to be the spark in a new war that would decimate much of the known Galaxy. Nevertheless, Karan persevered, unlocking the secrets of the Three Gods and giving her all to save both the Galaxy and her people.

Karan had passed away peacefully, her final wish fulfilled. After more than a century, she had finally returned to the place of her birth, the only other place she treasured more than even Hiigara.

Kiir Sjet, another hero in the Wrath of the Gods, decided to have Karan buried in a special location in the great desert – the location of the _Khar Toba_ and the Guidestone. That place was no more though, having been completely erased by the Taiidan bombing save for a few scraps of cracked metal.

The funeral was observed with the heaviest of hearts, with delegations from the surviving Galactic cultures paying their last respects from Kharakian orbit. There were the T-MAT, the Nalthorans, the Tobari, the Taiidan, and many more.

With the ending of the funeral, the various cultures returned to the task of rebuilding all that they had lost. Comparatively, the Hiigarans were more fortunate – at least they still had a planet to return to. The other races could not, for their homeworlds had been irreversibly altered by the now-dead Neo-Beast virus.

Still, the rebuilding was harsh and difficult even for the Hiigarans. Cities were rebuilt painstakingly from scratch, infrastructure was restored, and native wildlife carried onboard the _Legacy of Kharak_ were released in the hope of re-establishing the ecosystem.

But the Hiigarans remained undaunted by the uphill task they faced.

Karan had left them a new home.

Now they would rebuild it.

* * *

**Onboard Grand Shipyard _Sajuuk Khar_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

The Grand Shipyard was probably the greatest orbital superstructure ever built in Hiigaran history. Just five years ago, the Hiigaran people were struggling in what was deemed the darkest time since the Homeworld War. Now, this pinnacle of shipbuilding technology showed what Hiigarans could do when they stood united in crisis.

_Sajuuk Khar_, or the Chosen of Sajuuk, was far more massive than any Mothership ever built. It was larger than even the monolithic Tanis Base, which had been restored and now served as a military base in the Tanis Ruins. Now the Hiigarans would no longer face the difficulty of building vessels larger than a shipyard class.

The mighty construction facility had been completed with much fanfare just a week ago, and now it was about to birth its maiden vessel.

Admiral Eefrit watched the decorators scurry about hurriedly as they struggled to add the finishing touches to the ambience of the viewing hall. A very special ship was going to be launched today, and to tremendous fanfare as well.

"Feeling relaxed, Eefrit?" Yuno's voice came in as she shimmered into existence before him. "The smartly-attired admiral bowed deeply in welcome."

"Of course I am. The past few years have been just awful, with so much rebuilding work and the problems regarding security," Eefrit replied coolly, "We've really come a long way since then."

"I agree wholeheartedly," Yuno nodded, "A pity though that they still haven't figured out a way of downloading me back into a cloned and restored body."

"These things take time. Give them a few years, I'm sure they'll find a way in the end," Eefrit reassured, only to have Yuno roll her eyes sceptically.

"By the way, Eefrit, there's been a few updates from Hiigaran Intelligence," Yuno reported, "Remember the Plaz Nebula?"

"It's still very clear in my mind."

"Well, they've finally managed to cobble together enough resources for a proper expedition there," Yuno said, "The problem is, they found no wreckage belonging to the Mythra whatsoever."

"No wreckage? Who could have moved it?"

"That's the problem," Yuno sighed, "Their sensors picked up a trail of space time distortion linking both the Plaz Nebula and the Gate of Hara, which seems to have been repaired and reactivated as recently as last month."

"Last month?" Eefrit bellowed, "Now THAT'S too near for comfort."

Yuno nodded grimly before continuing.

"Given the circumstances, Intelligence has many reasons to believe that a scout Mythra fleet must have come in via the Gate of Hara, salvaged the wreckage, and warped back out."

"So we could be facing an invasion anytime soon?"

"An invasion is likely, though their initial experience with us will make them more careful the next time round," Yuno commented, "So we'll need to be ready when the time comes."

"That's why we're here, remember?" Eefrit grinned as the main doors swung open. Representatives from the various Kiith, as well as distinguished military personnel, strolled in smartly in anticipation of the launch.

"Eefrit!" Soban yelled as he walked up to the Admiral. Both friends shook hands warmly, having not met once since the end of the war. Rebuilding took up too much time.

"It's good to see you again," Eefrit gushed, "I guess you're enjoying your latest promotion, General Soban?"

"I always thought Captain suited me better," Soban replied, "General sounds less glam and heroic."

Both of them laughed heartily and went on to chat casually. Yuno's hologram walked off, smiling at the guests waving at her.

Then the lights dimmed in the hall as the main event beckoned. Spotlights flashed onto the massive ship before them, painted in the blue Hiigaran colours and sporting the beautiful emblem of the Angel Moon on its top.

"Fellow officers," Kiir greeted as he walked up to the main viewing panel, "I thank you all for coming to grace this event."

Applause reverberated through the viewing hall as the crowd gave Kiir Sjet their warmest welcomes. Kiir bowed before them and went on with his speech.

"Five years ago, we were embroiled in a terrible war, a war that took many things away from us," Kiir began, "The war took many brave Hiigarans, many ships, even our homeworld. It also took the life of our great Fleet Command, Karan Sjet, who gave her life so that we may continue to live in peace. I now implore you all to observe a minute's silence for Karan, and for the many lives lost in that war."

Kiir bowed down sadly, as did the rest of the crowd. Memories of the horrible war flashed before his eyes – the sacrifice of the Bentusi, the attack of the Progenitors, the rise of the Neo-Beast… All these moments, locked down for many years in the deepest recesses of his mind, rose once more to haunt him.

But then there was Karan, who braved so many dangers so that her people could live. He remembered her brave exploits with the _Sajuuk_, when she joined in the Alliance assault against the _Qwaar Jet_, her duel with the Mythra, and her graceful strikes in the Final Battle.

Kiir calmed himself, eclipsing the rest of the bad memories with the good ones, like the miracle of Hiigara's restoration. That was one event that still brought tears to his eyes even today, where Karan used her last strength to rebuild the whole of Hiigara.

Kiir looked up as the minute ended, the audience paying close attention to him once more.

"Now, peace is upon us and the restoration of Hiigara is almost complete. This is cause for celebration, but we must remain on our guard," Kiir emphasised, "Intelligence reports that the ancient Mythra, which we defeated in the war, may invade this Galaxy in the near future. As a sentient race of this Galaxy, we must be prepared for the worst, so that tragic sacrifices will be unnecessary."

At this moment, the might ship powered up its engines for the first time. Gasps went through the crowd as the _Sajuuk Khar_ released its tractor beams, and the new ship drifted away on its own power.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era, of a new Hiigaran Navy," Kiir spoke, "Through this new Navy, we will avoid the mistakes of the past and protect this homeworld, this Galaxy, for now and forever."

The new warship soared away at high speed, its sustained hyperspace field letting it glide through space effortlessly. The crowd broke out in tremendous applause as the new Horizon II class battlecruiser moved off to join its predecessor in the distance, the original _Horizon_.

As the applause reached a maximum, Kiir gazed out at the Hiigaran Navy and the _Koshiir Ra_ gathered around the Grand Shipyard, smiling as he looked father into the distance, where the distant Kharak and Karan's final resting place was.

And so begins another chapter, another page turned in the tome of the Hiigarans

The beginning of yetanother journey.


	2. Shadows of the Ancients

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 1: SHADOWS OF THE ANCIENTS

* * *

**

"_Peace is an impressive achievement, but it is not a natural state."_

_Source unknown

* * *

_

**Onboard the _Sajuuk Khar_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

"I don't get it," Kiir Sjet muttered after hearing Yuno's report, "How in Kharak's name did the second fleet arrive with the Gate of Hara non-functional?"

"To be honest, I have no idea," Yuno replied, "I have done some analysis on the Mythra's Timespace Drive, and while its speed and range almost put it in the same league as the Far Jumper, there is no way they could have jumped from outside the Galaxy using such a slow faster-than-light drive."

"We know that the first Mythra fleet was powered down just outside the Northern Galactic Outskirts, which explains why they were able to respond so quickly to the Gate's activation," Eefrit commented, "Perhaps the Mythra are using some sort of FTL gate or catapult to fling their ships to our Galaxy."

"That is a possible theory. But if that were the case, why haven't the Mythra thrown everything at us yet?" Kiir asked doubtfully, "We just fought a galaxy-wide war and are still recovering from our losses. Even a computer should be able to figure out that now would be the best time to strike."

"In the light of Eefrit's words, I think I may be able to come up with a possible explanation," Yuno began, gesturing for the rest to listen to her. Kiir and Eefrit nodded to indicate they were paying attention.

"Thank you. Now I could venture a guess that the Mythra have a FTL system for travel between galaxies, as suggested by Eefrit, rather than my initial conjecture that they used the damaged Gate of Hara via a miracle of some sort. Perhaps it may be possible that the FTL system is inefficient in its use of energy, allowing the Mythra to send only one fleet every now and then."

"If so, then there'd be no way for them to mount a proper offensive," Kiir added, a hint of relief in his voice, "I hope that's what you were trying to mean, Yuno?"

"I'm afraid not, Kiir, though I too hoped that would be the case," Yuno replied sadly, "Remember that the Gate of Hara has been repaired and reactivated as recently as the previous month."

"Oh crap," Eefrit muttered as he realised what Yuno was getting at, "The Mythra sent a scout fleet in to repair the Gate of Hara and salvage the remains of their first fleet. After which, they will…"

"…Use the Gate of Hara to jump in their main forces," Kiir finished, the relief in his voice now replaced by worry.

"Then there's no time to lose," Eefrit exclaimed as he got up and prepared to leave, "I will personally lead the Hiigaran Navy in to destroy the Gate of Hara immediately."

"Perhaps that is best then," Kiir agreed wholeheartedly, "Yuno, there are no Mythra forces in this Galaxy as of now?"

"For now, all Mythra forces have jumped back through the Gate," Yuno reported, "But we don't know for sure when they'll come again."

"Very well then. Eefrit, do what you can. May Sajuuk watch over you."

Eefrit saluted solemnly and walked briskly out of the viewing hall, where the launch party was still taking place.

"Kiir I have to ask you something," Yuno started upon seeing that Kiir and her were alone, "I've been getting rumours lately of some new project that was of you and Kro's devising…"

"I'm afraid that's top secret, Yuno," Kiir replied apologetically, "All I can say is that we need to compensate for the loss of the _Sajuuk_."

"Would the Horizon II class not be sufficient?"

"The Horizon II just features the new Quantum Phase reactor core as a source of power," Kiir explained, "That along with a few improvements to the ion and pulse cannons. There's nothing else revolutionary about it."

"But judging from the _Horizon_'s performance against the _Qwaar Jet_…"

"The _Qwaar Jet_ is different from the Mythra in many ways," Kiir reminded, "Remember the time when the _Horizon_ was used in our first encounter with the Mythra?"

"That near defeat was because the _Horizon_ wasn't exactly in tip-top shape…"

"Even if it were, we still need a ship that can somehow come close to substituting the _Sajuuk_."

"Kiir Sjet, building such a ship will create more political tension in this Galaxy. While our relations with the other Galactic races have been cordial due to the Wrath of the Gods, there has been growing criticism about the Hiigaran Republic trying to act as a superpower in charge of this Galaxy."

"Yuno, this is war," Kiir explained calmly, "Surely you haven't forgotten all the losses and casualties we suffered due to our technological inferiority?"

"But…"

"The project will go on as planned Yuno," Kiir cut her off, "Try to remember that the Mythra are a far greater threat than Kaark and the _Qwaar Jet_ had ever been. To depend solely on _Koshiir Ra_ and substandard technology would be suicide."

Yuno remained silent, but Kiir indeed had a point there. Their victory five years ago had been almost entirely a matter of luck – they had two Gods against Kaark's God, along with the support of the entire Galaxy. While the Neo-Beast forces greatly outnumbered them, the fact that they were still largely based on current Galactic space technology made it possible to defeat them.

The Mythra would be quite a different story. Not only did they have superior technology comparable to that of the Progenitors, but they probably also had superior numbers. If it had been the Mythra they had been fighting rather than the Neo-Beast five years ago, then they would most probably have suffered a terrible defeat.

"Why aren't you two enjoying yourselves, it's a party for goodness' sake!" General Soban walked up to Kiir and Yuno, "It's a good idea to just relax while the peace lasts."

"Quite true, Soban," Yuno agreed brightly, "Though it will be most peculiar for you to be dancing with a hologram."

"Who cares?" Soban replied as he proceeded to "grab" Yuno's hand. Yuno laughed and played along, trying her best to follow Soban's lead as they moved onto the dance floor.

Kiir watched as the crowd stopped to gawk at the sight – a General and a hologram dancing and laughing their way across the hall. He smiled and walked towards the exit.

There was much to be done if peace was to be maintained.

* * *

**Onboard New Tanis Base, Tanis Ruins:**

The engineers went about their work tirelessly. If all went well, the new ship could be launched for tests within a few days' time. However, many of them wondered why the construction had to be done in a place as remote and isolated as Tanis. After all, there was nothing much different about this new ship, except that it was larger than a battlecruiser chassis and featured many never-before-seen devices.

Only Kro Manaan knew why the project had to be completed at Tanis. As Kiir had explained to him months ago, the other Galactic races would not take kindly to the fact that they were building a warship heavier than the awe-inspiring battlecruiser chassis.

In fact, the new Qwaar Jet Cor class, as it had been codenamed, would be the first dreadnaught class vessel to be built in the Galaxy. Its mass and capabilities would easily put it in the same league as the only other dreadnaught class vessel, the Progenitor ship _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_.

While the Qwaar Jet Cor class was being built in response to the future threats of the Mythra, it was very possible that the other Galactic races would assume it to be a Hiigaran weapon for dominating the Galaxy. Therefore it was crucial that the prototype Qwaar Jet Cor class was built in absolute secrecy so as not to ruin diplomatic relations and spark off an arms race.

Kro Manaan opened the communications channel on his computer as he observed the massive ship resting in the dock. Since they were running on a tight schedule, Kiir would query him on the ship's progress on a weekly basis.

"Kro, you there?"

"Kiir, I'm receiving you loud and clear," Kro responded, "How're things going back at Hiigara?"

_"Sajuuk Khar_ just launched the first Horizon II class battlecruiser, and they're getting ready to launch two more over the next few days," Kiir replied, "How's the progress with the _Eidolon_?"

"_Eidolon_ will be ready for testing in about two or three days' time," Kro replied cheerily, "I bet you can't wait to lay your hands on this baby."

"I'd love to, but I've put someone else in charge of the _Eidolon_," Kiir admitted, "General Soban will be commanding the ship."

"Excellent choice, if I might add," Kro praised, "He's probably one of the craziest captains I've seen around. _Eidolon_ seems to suit that 'outgoing' personality of his."

"Well, since the _Eidolon_'s progressing so well, Soban and I'll come over on the day after tomorrow. Will that be fine?"

"Of course, of course," Kro replied, "It's been a few months since we last talked face to face."

"I'm also looking forward to catching up with you," Kiir chuckled, "See you in two days' time then. Kiir out."

Kro closed the channel and returned his gaze to the monolithic _Eidolon_. He could almost feel sorry for any ship bold enough to stand up to the _Eidolon_.

* * *

**Onboard the _Pride of Hiigara_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

In the past, the original Mothership became an orbital shipyard after fulfilling its task of delivering the colonists to Hiigara. The _Pride of Hiigara_ would have suffered a similar fate, but the construction of the _Sajuuk Khar_ meant that it could continue to serve as a flagship and command centre of the Hiigaran Navy.

Yuno warped into the computer system after the glitzy night over at the _Sajuuk Khar_. She hadn't expected Soban to be an excellent dancer as well as a soldier. That was probably going to be one of the more unforgettable moments in her life.

She decided to get back to her job of monitoring and processing intelligence updates from scout ships throughout Hiigaran space. Yuno opened the communications log and quickly scanned through the messages within, classifying them according to strategic importance.

Then she came to the last message, whose nature caused her jaws to drop.

It was a message from the Vaygr.

A message asking to establish diplomatic relations.


	3. Accelerando

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 2: ACCELERANDO

* * *

**

**Onboard the _Sajuuk Khar_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

"This had better be good Yuno," Kiir grumbled, his eyes misty from the unceremonious wake-up call.

"Sorry for interrupting at such a time," Yuno apologised, "But we've just received a message from the Vaygr."

Kiir sat up straight on his bunk when he heard the V word, all the sleepiness gone from his eyes and mind.

"Aren't the Seven Crusades all gone? I mean, we killed one at Gozan and the _Qwaar Jet_ finished the rest at Hiigara."

"Just because the Seven Crusades were destroyed doesn't mean the Vaygr presence is completely gone," Yuno responded, "Remember that while the Vaygy lost most of their fleets with the Crusades' destruction, they still have many operational bases and command stations throughout the Eastern Fringe."

"Well then, what are the odds of those bases cobbling together a viable threat in five years?"

"We may never know," Yuno sighed, "The rest of the Galaxy, including our own forces, took heavy losses from the Neo-Beast War. Given that the Vaygr were completely untouched after their encounter at Hiigara, it may be possible that they could have the resources to mount a sizeable incursion into the Inner Rim by now. But that's beside the point."

"What do you mean?" Kiir asked in a puzzled voice.

"You're not going to believe this," Yuno muttered, "They're asking to establish diplomatic relations."

Kiir's jaw dropped in disbelief. The Warriors of the Fringe asking to be friends of Hiigara? After what the Vaygr did during the End Time, even negotiating a cease fire would be difficult.

"I didn't quite get that Yuno… perhaps the transmission got garbled or something…"

"The Vaygr are asking to establish diplomatic relations," Yuno repeated, "You're not hearing things."

"Oh… wow…" Kiir managed to say after Yuno's reassurance that there was nothing wrong with his hearing.

"There's a catch though," Yuno added, "They want to see someone of authority in person."

"Well, I'm not very surprised," Kiir replied, "I can almost guess what happens after we do send a representative over for negotiations."

"The Vaygr will capture the representative and use the hostage to threaten us?"

"Something along those lines," Kiir responded sceptically, "Either that or they'll interrogate the representative half to death for vital intelligence."

"Don't you think you're judging them too soon?" Yuno enquired, "I mean, what if they really mean it this time?"

"Well, it'd be good if they really mean to start diplomatic relations with us," Kiir admitted, "But I'm inclined to think that it's pretty much impossible."

"So, should we take up the Vaygr offer?"

Kiir stopped to think for a moment. After what the Vaygr had done to them during the End Time, including flinging Atmosphere Deprivation Missiles at Hiigara, he wasn't sure whether to trust them or not. On one hand, the Vaygr could really be willing to ally themselves with Hiigara and the rest of the Galaxy – a good idea in the face of the Mythra threat.

On the other hand, the Vaygr could very well just turn around and stab them in the back, using the diplomatic talks as a diversion from another invasion of the Inner Rim.

"Kiir?"

"I think I'll take up the offer," Kiir decided, "I'll be Hiigara's representative…"

"You know that being the new Sjet'sa means that you can't just go risk your life like that," Yuno reminded, "Besides, since you're Karan's successor…"

"Enough crap about the whole successor thing," Kiir interrupted, "I don't know why everyone thinks I'm the leader just because I was on good terms with Karan and all…"

"Even then, the rest of Hiigara still regards you as one," Yuno finished, "We cannot risk a leader's life like that – the consequences on troop morale would be disastrous."

"Well then, by your logic, I'll have to be the one going there since I'm in a real position of authority," Kiir argued, "Besides, I'll be safe there."

"With Eefrit leading the bulk of our forces to the Gate of Hara? I doubt we can spare the ships for an adequate escort so deep into Vaygr territory."

"Have a little faith," Kiir reassured, "Nothing will go wrong."

"Does this have anything to do with those secret project rumours I've been getting?" Yuno asked.

"Maybe it does," Kiir answered mysteriously, "Well then, I'll be off to Tanis now. Looks like we're going to have to speed up things a little."

With that, Kiir closed the channel and got up quickly. There was even more to be done now with this new development.

* * *

**Onboard the _Legacy of Kharak_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

"Kiir's going to what?" Eefrit shouted in disbelief.

"I tried to dissuade him, but his mind was set," Yuno sighed in defeat, "He did acknowledge that the secret project is going to play a major project in this."

"The secret project?" Eefrit asked incredulously, "I've been getting rumours on my side as well, something about a new warship of some sort…"

"Whatever the project is, I really hope it lives up to expectations," Yuno sighed again, "By the way, good luck on the mission to the Gate."

"We're just going to shoot it up, nothing more," Eefrit replied, "What else could possibly go wrong?"

"Well, if the Mythra come through…"

"If they do come through, we'll just jump the hell outta there," Eefrit reassured, "We'll come back in one piece, I promise."

"You had better keep to your word," Yuno pretended to threaten, "May the Gods watch over you."

"Thanks Yuno. Eefrit out."

Eefrit leant back in his seat and watched the bulk of the Hiigaran Navy gather around the _Legacy_. They were really going all out with this one by sending everything but the Hiigaran Defence Fleet.

"Admiral, the fleet is ready," reported an officer.

"Excellent. Set course for the Gate of Hara, initiate Synchronised Hyperspace Jump!" Eefrit ordered.

The _Legacy of Kharak_ gathered itself majestically in space and was swallowed by its blue quantum wavefront, the rest of the fleet following suit.

* * *

**Onboard the _Ascension_, Eastern Outer Rim:**

"Long range sensors locked in," the sensors officer reported, "We are ready to begin long range monitoring."

"Cloak generators are at maximum power," mentioned another.

"Good, is there anything going on there?" General Tora asked.

In recent weeks, several Tobari merchant vessels plying the routes between planets of the Eastern Outer Rim had gone missing. Tora had originally suspected the Turanic Raiders, but later ruled out the possibility after discovering the firepower involved.

Since the Turanic Raiders depended mostly on their ion array frigates and attack carriers, the ships they preyed upon usually exhibited scars resulting from ionic damage – clean cuts through the armour along with severe overload damage to internal hull circuitry.

However, the merchant ships that went missing were usually never found. When they were, there was hardly anything left of them except for a few pieces of hull plating.

It was only with the destruction of a carrier class merchant vessel that Tora finally got a vague idea of what they might be up against, for the ship's wreckage bore signs that some massive pulses of energy had ripped completely through the hull.

It was something that only the Vaygr Trinity Cannon could accomplish, as according to Hiigaran Intelligence.

"General, we are picking up a substantial number of ships about half a light year from our current position," the sensors officer muttered as the readings came up on his screen, "According to ship profiles from Hiigaran Intelligence, they're Vaygr."

"How many of them are there?" Tora asked, trying to determine his next course of action.

"It's a basic carrier fleet with about a dozen heavy missile frigates and five assault frigates," came the reply, "There're also two destroyers and a battlecruiser."

"That's something…" Tora whistled as he rolled the numbers about in his mind. While the Tobari fleet would have no trouble dealing with a force of those numbers, the job given to him by the newly-formed Galactic Council was to monitor Vaygr movements at maximum range.

"General, there're more ships hyperspacing in. Picking up four more battlecruisers and three carriers."

"In the name of the Emerald Star, are they preparing for an invasion?" Tora uttered when he heard the news, "Where are they heading?"

"The fleet is heading towards the nearby star system of Roa."

"That's strange," Tora muttered, "Roa has nothing of value to mine, and the planets there are completely uninhabitable. Whatever could they be up to…"

"Sir, we've lost sensor contact!"

"What!" Tora exclaimed in shock, "Re-establish sensors lock immediately!"

"It's no use sir," replied the sensors officer, "Something in that star system is jamming our sensors."

"What could they be up to?" Tora wondered as he studied a map of the Roa System.

* * *

**Onboard the _Horizon_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

"I thought we were supposed to leave tomorrow?" General Soban asked.

"Well, circumstances dictate otherwise," Kiir commented, "My shuttle should be reaching _Horizon_ soon."

"So why're we going to Tanis Base anyway?"

"Well, I've been overseeing the development of our first dreadnaught chassis warship."

"A dreadnaught chassis?" Soban exclaimed incredulously, "You mean, something on the scale of…"

"… Of the _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_," Kiir finished, "There's no point describing it now, it's best that you see it for yourself. Kiir out."

As static filled the channel, Soban sat back in a daze as he watched Kiir's shuttle swoop in over the _Horizon_ and head for the docking bay. _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_ was an amazing warship that put many battlecruisers to shame, its Phased Cannon Array capable of dispatching most ships that dared to go against it. Then he had piloted the _Horizon_ in the final battle and witnessed first-hand the remarkable Hyperphase Drive that gave it extreme speed and manoeuvrability.

With all this in mind, Soban had a feeling that this new ship was probably going to take his breath away once more.

"_Shuttle dock confirmed,"_ the computer chirped as the hangar doors began to seal shut.

"Helm, lock in far jump coordinates for Tanis Base," Soban ordered as he secured his seatbelt in anticipation of the jump.

As pure energy surged through the _Horizon_'s Far Jumper, quantum energies coalesced into a brilliant blue jump window that was far brighter than standard wavefronts. The door of hyperspace swept the entire length of the _Horizon_, leaving nothing behind as it closed.


	4. Dreadnaught

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 3: DREADNAUGHT

* * *

**

**Onboard the Taiidan Republic Central Command Station _Tempest_, Northern Outer Rim:**

A century ago, it was believed that there was no way for the Taiidan to band together in the form of a non-imperial government. For every group that desired a new Republic, there would be other extremists who did everything possible to restore the original Empire. The resulting civil war fractured the first Taiidan Republic, which shattered under the onslaught of the Vaygr.

But now, the Neo-Beast War solved what decades of endless fighting could not. Upon witnessing the might of the Ancients and the relative insignificance of current Galactic races, the Taiidan banded together in a rare show of solidarity, determined to leave the mistakes of the past behind them.

The New Taiidan Republic achieved what its predecessor did not – it united much of the original Empire under a new political system of democracy. At last, the Taiidan would not need to worry about the horrors of dictatorship, like the cruel reign of Emperor Riesstiu.

But apparently, the peace was shortlived, for Admiral Ecron had been called to an emergency meeting by the Republic's top tacticians and intelligence officers.

Admiral Ecron strode smartly into the ready room, soliciting greetings and salutes of respect from everyone within.

"Is anything the matter?" Ecron asked immediately, itching for them to get to the point.

"I'm dreadfully sorry for calling you up on such short notice," Advisor Vorshan began, "But there have been several developments that require your immediate attention."

The ready room dimmed as the holographic projectors came online, displaying a three-dimensional map of the Galaxy.

"Our border patrols have been picking up increased activity along the Eastern Border. It seems that the Vaygr have started moving again."

"I'm not very surprised about that," Ecron replied, "Can you elaborate?"

"Merchant vessels are now avoiding the Eastern Trade Routes because of several unexplained ship disappearances along the border," Vorshan added, "All efforts to locate the missing vessels have come to nought. We can't even determine whether the ships have been destroyed."

"You suspect it's the Vaygr's doing?"

"We have received similar reports from the Tobari, who have also reported merchant ship losses along the Eastern Routes," Vorshan explained grimly, "And they have evidence that Vaygr weaponry was involved."

"Then we have no choice but to take up arms once again," Ecron sighed as the thought of war crept back into his mind, "Divert additional forces to patrol the Eastern Border. I want to be informed the moment the Vaygr cross that line."

"We will do so at once Admiral," Vorshan acknowledged, "There is also one other issue, and it is regarding the Hiigarans."

"What about them?"

"I understand this is in direct violation of the alliance treaty we have with the Hiigaran Republic," Vorshan admitted, "But we sent ships to spy on Hiigaran assets."

"How dare you!" Ecron snapped as he stood up abruptly, bringing his fists down on the table, "The Hiigarans are friends of the Republic! If it were not for their assistance in the Neo-Beast War…"

"Admiral, I understand your feelings," Vorshan spoke calmly, "But take a look at this."

The Galactic map shimmered away and was replaced by several long range snapshots of Tanis Base. Ecron glanced at the pictures and could not understand what his advisor was driving at.

"Take a closer look at the construction bays," Vorshan instructed as the images were replaced by close-up shots of the Hiigaran military base. This time Ecron saw the silhouette of a massive ship. He studied it briefly and understood immediately.

"That ship is definitely of the theoretical dreadnaught class chassis," Ecron muttered, "Why are you showing me this?"

"Isn't it obvious, Admiral?" Vorshan spoke icily, "That ship will give the Hiigarans an unprecedented military advantage in the Galaxy. While we lack the technical details of that vessel, even the T-MAT acknowledge that it could be a threat."

"You've told the T-MAT?" Ecron couldn't believe his ears.

"In fact, the Galactic Council is having an emergency meeting at this very moment," Vorshan informed, "The representatives of all member races, except the Hiigarans, are discussing the next course of action to take with regards to this illegal arms build up."

Admiral Ecron gritted his teeth when he realised the unstable political situation of the moment. What in Sajuuk's name was Kiir thinking when he decided to go ahead with such a project, knowing full well it would violate every arms treaty that had been signed in the past five years?

"I'll be direct Admiral, about the course of action we have decided would be best in the name of the Republic's sovereignty."

"And that is?" Ecron asked, afraid of the answer.

"The immediate imposition of trade sanctions on the Hiigaran Republic, along with the confiscation of half of Hiigara's assets in accordance with the penalties as agreed upon in the arms treaties."

"Vorshan, you know full well that 'confiscation' refers to takeover by force, a war in other words!" Ecron cried, horrified by his advisor's suggestion.

"Admiral, the fact that the Hiigarans blatantly committed such an act shows that they do not respect intragalactic treaties and friendships. I don't see why we shouldn't make the first move."

Ecron looked around the ready room for support, but no one looked up at him.

"Democracy, Admiral," Vorshan reminded, "It was a unanimous decision. Your veto power is useless now."

* * *

**Onboard the _Horizon_, Tanis Ruins:**

"By Sajuuk," General Soban uttered as the _Horizon_ steered towards Tanis Base for a closer look, "Is that the secret project you were talking about?"

Kiir smiled and nodded, causing Soban to gawk in amazement and sheer shock.

The Qwaar Jet Cor class dreadnaught, _Eidolon_, was a magnificent sight to behold. Its radial design reminded Soban of the awe-inspiring Somtaaw Dreadnought, except that both wings were complete semicircles. Between the rear half of the wings was the main fuselage of the _Eidolon_, which was a large cylinder-shaped chassis that housed a large cannon of sorts, the weapon's line of fire passing through the gap between the wings. The main drives themselves extended some distance beyond the rear of the _Eidolon_, like that of the Somtaaw Deacon class destroyer. Soban could easily see the heavy armour plating that protected the powerhouse of the dreadnaught.

In all, the _Eidolon_ resembled an oversized Archangel whose superstructure tapered down to the thinner but still massive drive section at the rear. While the ship was barely two thirds the length of a standard battlecruiser, it was quite evident that the battlecruiser would be beaten hands down in terms of mass and capabilities.

"…What does the _Eidolon_ have?" Soban finally managed to say amid all the shock and awe.

"Being a dreadnaught chassis vessel built for war, its got many instruments of pain," Kiir grinned as the _Horizon_ slowly moved to dock with Tanis Base, "_Eidolon_'s main cannon is the one you see at the centre of the ship on the front of the central chassis. It's a working Hiigaran version of the Phased Cannon Array."

"The hell?" Soban exclaimed, "How'd you people reverse engineer the thing!"

"Lots and lots of research of course," Kiir replied, "But if you remember correctly, the _Gatekeeper_'s PCA consists of four Phased Cannon weapons mounted vertically in an array. Due to the complexity of such a design, we were only able to mount a single weapon on the _Eidolon_. In other words, it would be more accurate to call it a Phased Energy Cannon."

"One quarter of the PCA's power, eh?" Soban muttered, "That's still dangerous nonetheless."

"Of course, _Eidolon_ has a secondary armament as well," Kiir added, "The engineers have mounted twin battlecruiser standard ion turrets on the top and bottom of the central chassis for general coverage of the top and bottom hemispheres. _Eidolon_'s also the first Hiigaran vessel to use the newly developed turbopulsar."

"Turbopulsars?"

"It's the latest breakthrough in pulsar technology," Kiir explained, "Each turbopulsar blast has thrice the power of a standard pulsar, and a firing range which is three quarters that of the ion cannon. Furthermore, it is capable of firing up to two shots per second, making it a worthy successor to the older pulse cannon design. Pity its power requirements mean that it can only be mounted on capital ships. I was thinking along the lines of turbopulsar gunships…"

"Amazing. How many of these 'turbopulsars' does the _Eidolon_ have?"

"There's one on the front and rear of both wings, another two on each wing side, and a dual turbopulsar full range of motion turret on the top and bottom of both wings. That makes for a total of sixteen turbopulsars."

"That's a lot of power," Soban noted.

"But there was a problem with the prototype design," Kiir admitted, "Because of the vertical thickness of the _Eidolon_'s wings, the dreadnaught had a weak firing arc to the direct front and rear where only up to two turbopulsars could be brought to bear. So we somehow managed to squeeze in dual fusion torpedo bays on the top and bottom of the wings, both in front of and behind the dual turbopulsar turrets. This allows _Eidolon_ to fire up to sixteen fusion torpedoes in a single salvo."

"I gather that these 'fusion torpedoes' aren't the heavy torpedoes we have on the current destroyers?"

"Naturally so," Kiir answered, "I mean, I don't see why we can't implement fusion warheads on our torpedoes when the Vaygr have been using fusion missiles all this while."

"I noticed you didn't add distortion cannons to this ship, or the Horizon II design," Soban queried as the docking clamps of Tanis Base gripped the _Horizon_ with a shudder.

"That's because I realised that the distortion cannons had a detrimental effect on the fabric of space time," Kiir sighed, "Remember when you used distortion cannons freely in the final battle? Well, it sort of left behind lots of quantum waveform anomalies and damaged space time in the Plaz Nebula. That place is off limits to non Far Jumpers now."

Kiir began to walk off the bridge along with General Soban. Soban himself was in a state of amazement from all of the _Eidolon_'s capabilities.

"I'll tell you more once we get on the ship," Kiir said as he walked down the corridor towards the airlock, Soban following closely behind.

"More?" Soban uttered in sheer disbelief. What else could the _Eidolon_ be capable of?

* * *

**Onboard the _Ascension_, Eastern Outer Rim:**

"General, we're picking up a distress beacon coming from the Great Wastelands," reported the sensors officer, "It's a Taiidan carrier."

"Details?" Tora asked immediately.

"There's nothing much in the message, only that they are under massive attack by Vaygr forces," came the reply, "Should we assist?"

"Of course!" Tora declared, "I should have known that these events must have been the Vaygr's doing! How long will the journey take?"

"Eight minutes via hyperspace."

"Assemble the fleet and jump at once!" Tora ordered.

The light from the constellations shimmered as the Tobari fleet assembled while in cloak. Then the shimmer became more obvious as the quantum wavefronts opened up and engulfed the cloaked vessels.

* * *

**Onboard Taiidan Republic carrier _Destiny_, the Great Wastelands:**

"Commander, the left frigate wing is reporting heavy losses!"

"Sir, we've lost our fighter escort!"

"Incoming fire, brace for impact!"

The Taiidan carrier shuddered as the Vaygr fusion missiles impacted its hull, releasing their payloads in explosive bursts of light. The Taiidan commander struggled to stand in spite of the mighty quake rocking his ship.

"Engineering! Are the hyperdrives ready yet?" the commander yelled.

"No go sir, not with all these power fluctuations in the grid!"

"Stabilise our power then!"

"We can't do that unless you take us out of the line of fire!" returned an equally irritated voice. Then the intercom cut out abruptly as more weapons fire slammed into the capital ship's hull.

"Commander! The Tobari fleet received our distress call!" cried an officer excitedly, "They're coming to our aid right now, ETA eight minutes!"

"So, all we need to do now is survive for eight more darned minutes," the commander growled.

It was then that he caught sight of an infiltrator frigate coming closer. He yelled an order for his fleet to intercept, only to realise that the carrier was the only ship left.

"All hands stand by to repel boarding parties," the commander announced as he gripped his hand pistol tightly.

The frigate moved alongside the carrier, yet it did not launch any infiltrator pods. Just as the commander began puzzling over the frigate's behaviour, the frigate seemed to shimmer a bit as a thin metallic tube shot out and impaled the carrier. Chaos ensued almost immediately.

"Commander, something's taking over!" an officer reported in a panic, "Logic systems being subverted!"

"Losing control of all internal systems!"

"Engineering here, we've been locked out of the drive systems!"

The commander glanced around the bridge in fear. It was definitely the Neo-Beast, returned to have its revenge and devour them all. He shut his eyes and awaited the inevitable…

…Only to feel the scorching burn of drive plasma surging through the bridge.

* * *

**Onboard the _Ascension_, the Great Wastelands:**

"Hyperspace jump successful, we have arrived at preset coordinates," reported the helm officer.

"General, the Taiidan carrier is not here," informed the sensors officer grimly.

"Medium range sensor sweeps, full detail," Tora ordered promptly.

A few seconds later, the bridge dimmed as the scan results were projected via a hologram.

"Nothing, sir, except for residual quantum waveform signatures and a minor space time distortion."

"A space time distortion, you say?" Tora asked.

"Attempting to reconfirm…" the officer muttered as he did a second scan, "No sir, it was probably a sensor ghost. Picking up no distortions in the immediate vicinity."

"It probably dissipated," Tora noted, "Possibly a naturally occurring anomaly. Any signs that indicate the carrier's destruction?"

"We're picking up frigate and destroyer debris, all Taiidan, but no carrier wreckage," the officer replied.

"Any way for us to track down their hyperspace trajectories?"

"I'm afraid not General, the signatures have dissipated beyond the tracing threshold."

"This is most strange indeed…" Tora muttered as he tried to comprehend the situation.

* * *

**Onboard New Tanis Base, Tanis Ruins:**

"Welcome to New Tanis, General Soban," Kro Manaan greeted as Kiir and Soban walked into the docking hall.

"Damn, you two really kept your secrets well," Soban commented as Kro led both of them to the linkway connecting to the _Eidolon_.

"Well, if you were a Galactic neighbour and heard about the ship's capabilities, I'm sure you'd be worried too," Kro replied.

"Worried?" Soban laughed, "I'd wet my pants if I heard my neighbour was building something like this. Anyway, Kiir, you were saying?"

"Oh yeah," Kiir remembered, "_Eidolon_ is using the prototype Quantum Pulse Core, which is basically a series of quantum energy tappers organised as a whole reactor."

"I was wondering how a battlecruiser fusion reactor was going to handle all those weapons…" Soban commented.

"You'll be glad to hear this too Soban – _Eidolon_'s using the Hyperphase Drive as well, buth its size and mass means that it'll be much slower and less manoeuvrable than the Horizon class. However, it's still faster and nimbler than a standard battlecruiser," Kro added as he keyed in a code to open the linkway doors.

"That's to be expected from a ship this size," Soban replied coolly, "But something tells me this isn't the 'more' I was supposed to hear about."

Kro stopped immediately and pulled a handheld computer from his pocket. He tapped a few buttons and beckoned Soban to take a look at the ship. Complying, Soban walked to the side of the linkway and gazed through the viewing panels.

His jaws dropped open when the _Eidolon_ shimmered away from view and was replaced by a Hiigaran carrier.

"I wonder who decided to abandon holographic tech during the Vaygr War," Kro mentioned casually.


	5. Forced Engagement

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 4: FORCED ENGAGEMENT

* * *

**

**Onboard the _Legacy of Kharak_, the Gate of Hara:**

"Admiral, the Gate of Hara is now within effective firing range," reported Talos Paktu, the newly-appointed sensors officer. Since there was no longer an Unbound persona managing the entire ship, various duties had to be reassigned so as to keep the _Legacy_ functioning.

"Excellent," Eefrit said as he opened fleet-wide communications, "Admiral Eefrit to all ships: take up positions around the Gate now."

The order went out and the fleet responded. Battlecruisers and destroyers manoeuvred themselves towards the main circular chassis of the gate itself while the frigates headed for the control centre. Minutes later, the various captains reported that they were standing by for further orders.

Eefrit knew that the fleet was ready enough. They were certainly going all out here, for he had seven battlecruisers, twenty destroyers, and nearly a hundred frigates assigned to him – about half of the entire Hiigaran Navy.

But then the Gate of Hara itself was huge. How much firepower would it take to bring down a control station the size of Balcora Gate, and a gate structure thrice Balcora Gate's diameter?

"Sir, the fleet is awaiting your orders," Talos reminded politely.

Eefrit nodded and took a deep breath.

"Open fire."

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_, docked with New Tanis Base:**

The doors slid open silently, revealing a spacious and well-equipped bridge. To Soban's surprise, there were already officers walking about and testing the computer systems. Kro cleared his throat loudly, and the activity stopped.

Then everyone got up to salute the Sjet'sa and General.

"Enough of the formalities," Kiir groaned when everyone started giving him the 'Hiigara'sa' treatment, "I'm here to introduce General Soban, who will be assigned to the _Eidolon_ as ship's captain."

A series of gasps and astonished looks went through the crew when they realised that _the_ Soban was going to be their captain. The crew quickly subdued their excitement in respect of the important people around.

"General Soban, it is an honour to have you command this excellent vessel," a lanky officer strode up, "Allow me to introduce myself – I'm Taruur LirrHra, First Officer."

Taruur clasped Soban by the hand and shook it warmly. He then gestured with his other hand for the others to come forward.

"This is Sora Paktu, our helm," Taruur began as he gestured towards a tanned officer of medium build. Sora grinned and gave Soban a quick salute.

"Aalcor Manaan is our tactical officer," Taruur continued as the tall Aalcor stared emotionlessly at the General and bowed slightly, maintaining an air of calm about himself.

"And Eliir Sjet is in charge of sensors and communications," Taruur finished just as the petite lady walked up and shook Soban's hand.

"Idus Somtaaw is our Chief Engineer, but he's away in Engineering," Taruur explained, "You'll get to meet him later."

Soban nodded and signalled for the crew to return to their work. As the officers returned to their stations, Soban turned to Kiir for one final question.

"What's the jump range of the _Eidolon_?"

"Ah, how could I have forgotten?" Kiir responded apologetically, "Far Jumper jump module, ten million times lightspeed, and a maximum duration of ten hours. Certainly an improvement over the Horizon class' eight."

"Well then General, or Captain, whichever you prefer," Kro beckoned, "Why don't you take the _Eidolon_ for a spin?"

Soban's eyes brightened at Kro's offer. He looked at Kiir, who responded with a nod, before walking to the command chair and making himself comfortable.

A slight shudder ran through the ship as Kro gave the command for the docking clamps to be released. A few short beeps indicated the _Eidolon_ was cleared for launch.

"Quarter speed I guess," Soban suggested, "We don't want to rip Tanis Base apart."

Sora nodded and pressed a few buttons. With a slight shiver, the _Eidolon_'s main drives powered up for the first time. Everyone, even Kiir and Kro who were sitting in the back, held their breath as the massive dreadnaught inched its way out of dock. The viewscreens showed the massive construction beams and pylons of Tanis Base receding to the rear as the ship progressed on.

And then, there was just the vastness of empty space.

"We've cleared Tanis," Eliir announced triumphantly, causing applause to erupt throughout the bridge. Kiir heaved a sigh of relief at the fact that nothing had gone wrong.

Soban was seated at his station and smiling at the flawless launch when the sensors station began warbling angrily. The triumph was erased from Eliir's face as she rushed to investigate the alert.

"The proximity sensors are picking up several cloaked ships," Eliir reported, "They're from the Taiidan Republic."

"What in Kharak's name," Taruur uttered, "The alliance treaty forbids spying!"

"Eliir, what exactly are we dealing with here?" Soban asked sternly.

"There's a carrier, two heavy destroyers, and a battlecruiser," Eliir responded, "They're about two light seconds away from us."

"What do we do, Kiir?" Soban enquired, deciding to consult with higher authority first.

"Alert, the Taiidan ships have jumped to hyperspace," Eliir announced, "Exit coordinates are directly in front of us!"

"Captain, I'd recommend that we activate shields immediately," Aalcor advised calmly.

"I don't see why not," Soban agreed, "Go ahead."

"Affirmative. Raising primary and secondary shields now."

"What?" Soban exclaimed, "_Eidolon_'s got dual shields?"

"The primary shield is a quantum distortion field, while the secondary is a standard energy shield," Kiir explained from the back, "It turned out that removing distortion cannons from the equation freed up enough power for dual shielding, so we managed to squeeze in an energy shield generator along with a distortion generator."

The moment Kiir finished, the bridge lights flickered and dimmed as the computers starting beeping angrily. Soban was horrified when the emergency lights came on and the Taiidan fleet jumped out right in front of them.

"What the hell just happened?" Soban demanded.

"General Soban, it's a pleasure to have you as Captain of the _Eidolon_," the coarse voice of Idus buzzed through the intercom, "The main power conduit overloaded and burned out. I can only give you auxiliary power now."

"How did the overload occur?" Soban questioned as the Taiidan ships moved into formation before them.

"Diagnostics indicate that activating both shields caused the surge," Idus commented, "We'll need to install a conduit of greater tolerance next time."

"Damn," Soban swore, "Status of our shields?"

"Primary shields are offline; secondary shields online at twenty percent," Aalcor reported, "We only have enough power to use turbopulsars or standard drives, but not both."

"Captain, the Taiidan carrier is hailing us," Eliir announced.

"Patch them through," Soban ordered as Kiir walked up and stood next to him.

"Attention Hiigaran warship, this is the Taiidan Republic carrier _Millenium_," the Taiidan commander began, "We wish to speak with Kiir Sjet immediately."

"I'm here," Kiir greeted, "What are you doing with cloaked ships this deep in Hiigaran space?"

"Kiir Sjet, we came to investigate rumours that you had authorised the construction of a vessel in violation of intragalactic arms treaties, the commander explained, Now that we have evidence of your treaty violations, we request that you abandon the ship and scuttle it immediately."

"Scuttle it?" Kiir protested, "This ship was built with the sole intent of protecting this Galaxy against the Mythra!"

"Whatever the purpose of the ship, it is still in direct violation of the arms treaties," the commander insisted, "Please abandon the vessel and scuttle it immediately."

"Perhaps you do not understand," Kiir retorted, "I sent the necessary evidence to the Galactic Council a month ago, evidence that points towards the Mythra targeting this Galaxy for an invasion. According to the Tenhauser Arms Treaty, such evidence allows for the construction of ships heavier than the battlecruiser chassis."

"Kiir Sjet, the Galactic Council operates on the principles of logic and evidence. The Council received no such documents."

"What?" Kiir exclaimed incredulously, "For goodness' sake it's staring you straight in the face! Even an idiot can understand the implications of a fully repaired interstellar hyperspace gate, and the unexplained disappearance of the Mythra wreckage!"

"I'm sorry Kiir, but as I said, the Council received no such information," the commander repeated, "If you indeed have the evidence pointing to a future invasion, then you should bring the matter up at the next Council meeting. Until then, this dreadnaught class vessel cannot be allowed to exist."

"I refuse to comply," Kiir stated flatly.

"Kiir Sjet, we have been given authorisation by the Taiidan Parliament to destroy this ship by force if need be," the commander warned, "We have no wish to start another war. Please comply."

"In the name of Hiigara's sovereignty, I'm afraid I cannot do that."

"Very well then. We will now proceed to destroy this ship and confiscate half of Hiigara's assets in accordance with the penalties stated in the treaty."

The transmission ended and Soban looked worriedly at Kiir.

"Surely you could have put it across in a nicer way?" Soban asked.

"There's something going on with the Galactic Council," Kiir mumbled and ignoring the question, "Something's definitely not right."

"Captain, the _Millenium_ is launching strike craft!" Eliir cried, "The heavy destroyers and battlecruiser are powering up main weapons!"

"Call for help from Tanis Base," Soban ordered, "Aalcor, take out the battlecruiser first and then the destroyers."

The Manaan nodded calmly and keyed in the necessary commands. Then the bridge shook slightly as the heavy destroyers opened fire with their mass drivers, the battlecruiser joining in shortly with all four of its ion cannons.

"Secondary shields down to seventeen percent," Aalcor reported.

"Tanis Base is launching fighters and frigates to assist," Eliir added, "And the Taiidan ships are flanking us!"

"Once they've flanked us, open fire with all broadside weapons," Soban commanded calmly even as shot after shot slammed into the weakening energy shields.

The bridge was gripped by a quake as the Taiidan capital ships fired their energy burst cannons, raining dozens of energy beams onto the flickering shields of the _Eidolon_.

"Shields down to four percent," Aalcor said as he interpreted the data, "The Taiidan capital ships have flanked us."

"Fire turbopulsars now!"

The turbopulsars on the right wing swivelled around to target the battlecruiser which had manoeuvred there. Moments later, brilliant blue pulses of light lanced out at the Taiidan capital ship, leaving gashes in its thick armour. On the _Eidolon_'s left, the same was repeated with the heavy destroyers falling prey to a storm of turbopulsar fire.

"Tanis Base fighters have engaged the Taiidan strike craft," Eliir updated as another mighty shudder reverberated through the ship.

"Secondary shields offline, we're taking damage," Aalcor said grimly as the Taiidan vessels' shots now started slamming into the _Eidolon_'s reinforced armour.

"Status of the Taiidan vessels?"

"The battlecruiser's energy burst cannon has been disabled while the ship itself has taken minor damage," Eliir replied, "The heavy destroyers have lost their main cannons as well and one of them is completely crippled."

"Aalcor, switch targets immediately," Soban ordered, "We need to knock out their firepower ASAP."

"Understood," Aalcor responded as the turbopulsar turrets focused their fire on the other capital ship.

"Captain Soban, the _Millenium_ has powered up its main drives," Taruur pointed out, "I think they're going to ram us."

Soban stared ahead through the main viewscreen. Sure enough, the Taiidan carrier was now lumbering slowly towards them in a last-ditch kamikaze attempt. Soban wasted no time switching on the intercom.

"Idus, we need more power!"

"We're doing our best down here," came the frustrated reply, "But there's no way we can…"

"I need you to get the Phased Energy Cannon online or we're toast," Soban snapped, "Do whatever it takes, even if it means cutting life support!"

Soban shut off of the intercom and stared angrily at the oncoming carrier. Here he was in command of the epitome of Hiigaran space technology, and they could barely keep the lights on.

Everyone looked up as the familiar whir of ventilation fans began to die down, the cool breezes of air ceasing to flow from the vents.

"Captain, the Phased Energy Cannon is online at the expense of life support," Aalcor said as he tapped a few keys on his console, "There's enough energy to use the cannon at twenty percent power."

"What are you waiting for, fire the cannon now!" Soban ordered anxiously.

The _Eidolon_ shivered slightly as pure energy started to build up within its primary weapon. Then a golden beam of light shot forward and impaled the carrier. The weak beam partially penetrated the carrier, causing small explosions to occur along the front of the superstructure. As the beam fizzled out, the badly damaged carrier came to a hal, the force of the beam and the moderate internal damage depriving it of all momentum.

"The carrier's dead in space," Eliir sighed in relief, "Tanis Base fighters have claimed space superiority, while the battlecruiser and second destroyer have lost all weapons."

"Cease fire," Soban ordered promptly, "We don't want to cause any more harm than required. Damage report?"

"Minor damage to outer hull armour," Aalcor noted, "That's because we were able to disable their main weapons after our shields went down."

"Good job Aalcor," Kiir praised, "Eliir, can you open communications with the _Millenium_?"

Eliir nodded and tapped a few buttons. The channel opened, cluttered with pure static, but cleared up within moments.

"Attention Taiidan carrier _Millenium_, I must ask you to leave our space at once," Kiir ordered calmly, "As you can see, the dreadnaught _Eidolon_ will not be used for dominating the Galaxy, but to protect against the Mythra, otherwise we'd have destroyed your fleet entirely."

"Kiir Sjet, our sensor scans reveal that your ship appears to have lost main power," the commander countered, "Perhaps that is the real reason why you stopped."

"Well, the _Eidolon_ is more than capable of finishing your fleet even without main power," Kiir responded, "And you'd better trust me on that."

"…Very well Kiir Sjet. We will report your side of the story to our superiors when we get back. I thank you for sparing our lives. _Millenium_ out."

The channel closed as the wounded ships pulled painfully away from the virtually untouched _Eidolon_. Then blue windows of hyperspace opened up before them and dragged the fleet away from the Tanis Ruins.

Kiir gave a sigh of relief and turned back to Soban.

"We'd better return to New Tanis and get that conduit replaced," Kiir advised, "I've got a diplomatic meeting to attend."

"There's always the _Koshiir Ra_," Soban reminded.

"No," Kiir shook his head, "In the light of these circumstances, I think it'd be best for _Koshiir Ra_ to stay back and defend Hiigara."

Soban nodded and looked at Sora Paktu, who was already steering the ship around for its return trip to home base.

* * *

**Onboard the _Tempest_, Northern Outer Rim:**

Admiral Ecron walked out of the ready room, completely and utterly defeated. He had no choice but to watch the Taiidan Parliament give orders for the Republic Navy to prepare for war. He felt so helpless in this so-called system of democracy.

Advisor Vorshan strode confidently out of the ready room, smiling smugly at Ecron. Ecron responded with a forced smile and watched as the officer walked down the hallway. The Admiral turned around and was about to return to his quarters when a thought hit him. Ecron turned around and stared at the advisor once again, who was shrinking with distance.

"That's strange, since when did Vorshan stop limping?" he muttered as the advisor turned right and promptly vanished from view.

"Maybe it's just me…" Ecron muttered as he shook his head and walked away.


	6. Shattered Peace

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 5: SHATTERED PEACE**

* * *

**Onboard the _Ascension_, hyperspace transit:**

General Tora rested in his quarters, his mind working overtime to decipher the behaviour of the Vaygr and the unexplained disappearance of the Taiidan Republic carrier _Destiny_. The science and tactical officers onboard the _Ascension_ were also unable to make sense of the events, suggesting that a freak quantum waveform anomaly must have occurred and swallowed both fleets.

As such, he had given orders for the Tobari fleet to continue observations at the Easter Outer Rim while the flagship returned to Tenhauser Station, heart of the new Galactic Council, to seek further advice.

It was a pity that the Bentusi were now gone. Their pacifistic and exploratory nature meant that their civilisation had trekked across the stars and unlocked many Galactic secrets, secrets that even the T-MAT had no knowledge of. Had they remained in existence, perhaps he'd be able to get answers.

"General, may I come in?" the voice of Syne Alumani buzzed through the intercom. Tora pressed a button and unlocked the door to let his trusted advisor in.

"Is anything the matter, Syne?" Tora asked.

"I have been going through the records we have in the Galactic database," Syne began as he inserted a datadisc into Tora's personal computer console, "It seems that something similar has happened before."

The console's screen lit up and displayed a list of ship log details.

"About three weeks ago, the Nalthoran Navy reported the loss of their frontier patrol fleet and its accompanying carrier, _Shiba_," Syne said as he tapped away at the console, "One of our scout fleets was despatched to investigate, given their proximity to the last reported position of the _Shiba_."

"I remember the details," Tora replied, "Apart from wreckage resulting from a battle, there was no evidence of the carrier's destruction."

Syne nodded and tapped another button. Another series of ship logs appeared on the screen.

"I observed that more of these incidents started occurring after the _Shiba_'s loss, with many other Galactic fleets reporting the sudden loss of patrolling carrier fleets," Syne continued, "The most recent one was about a week ago, when the Hiigaran carrier _Veer-Rak II_ and its fleet were disabled by a massive electromagnetic pulse. Thankfully, Hiigaran reinforcements managed to arrive before a similar incident occurred."

"Did they manage to get any info on the attackers?" Tora enquired.

"Nothing, I'm afraid," Syne responded, "The EMP blast wiped out any and all sensor records on the attackers' methods, and the assisting Hiigaran forces did not pick up anything on their sensors when they arrived."

And then the flagship shook as though it had been buffeted by some cosmic force. The klaxons went off as the _Ascension_ went to red alert.

"General, you're needed at the bridge now," reported a bridge officer, "We've been pulled out of hyperspace."

"I'm on my way," Tora replied as he and Syne ran towards the doors.

* * *

**Onboard the _Legacy of Kharak_, the Gate of Hara:**

"Damage report on the gate?" Eefrit asked, hoping that their weapons fire was having some effect.

"Minor damage to the outer hull layer," Talos responded, "The Gate's already durable Progenitor superstructure has been reinforced substantially from both the Neo-Beast nanites and the Mythra repairs."

"How long will it take us to destroy the Gate?"

"Given that sensors have picked up at least two hulls on the Gate, we'd need to sustain fire for a few days or so."

"Damn, that thing is tough," Eefrit muttered as he watched his fleet fling ion beams, plasma pulses, and heavy torpedoes at the Gate of Hara. Though some portions of the Gate were now smouldering and blackened from the Hiigaran assault, the entire structure still remained largely intact. Such was the incredible durability of combined Progenitor, Neo-Beast and Mythra technology.

"Admiral, may I suggest that we focus fire on the control station?" Talos offered, "Given the difficulty of bringing down the whole gate structure, it would be wise to target the Gate's core first to disable hyperspace transport via the Gate."

"You're right," Eefrit agreed, "Eefrit to Fleet, change of plans. Destroy the Gate control centre first and then the Gate."

The fleet responded and quickly redirected all its firepower at the massive control core. The weapons fire being thrown at it would have quickly crippled even a mothership class vessel, but the control centre absorbed the attacks as though it were nothing more than an interceptor assault.

"This is going to take a long time…" Eefrit muttered.

"Emergency alert! Sensors are picking up massive space time distortions in the vicinity!" Talos reported urgently as the _Legacy_ began shuddering from the distortions arising from the fabric of space time, "Two Mythra Spheres on intercept course with our position, ETA ten seconds!"

"Two Spheres?!" Eefrit exclaimed in sheer shock, "I thought they were all gone from this Galaxy!"

"Looks like Intelligence was wrong," Talos muttered as the rest of the bridge shifted to full alert, "The space time distortions are affecting our ability to hyperspace – we'll have to stay and fight."

"Send an emergency distress call to Hiigara and Tenhauser Station," Eefrit ordered, "We need to inform Kiir and the Galactic Council."

"Trans-dimensional apertures opening behind us," Talos reported, "The Mythra have arrived."

Eefrit stared at the viewscreen grimly as two of the huge Spheres emerged from their dimensional wormholes behind the Hiigaran fleet.

* * *

**Onboard the _Ascension_, the Shining Hinterlands:**

Tora and Syne rushed onto the bridge, only to see that his ship and its escort force had already engaged the enemy. The Tobari General could scarcely believe his eyes.

"Someone tell me that isn't true," Tora uttered.

"Unless I'm very much mistaken, that is the Nalthoran carrier _Shiba_," Syne noted as the Nalthoran forces rushed past the Tobari defenders to flank the flagship.

"Raise cloaks and switch to evasive manoeuvres!" Tora ordered as he ran to his command chair, "Syne, I need you to do a full analysis on those ships!"

"At once sir," Syne complied as he took his place at an unmanned station and accessed the sensors.

The Tobari flagship and its small escort of gravity destroyers and frigates vanished promptly from sensors view. The Nalthoran ships ceased their attacks momentarily as they contemplated the change in circumstances. Then they exploded as the Tobari forces returned fire behind the safety of their cloaks.

"General, sensors are not reading any life signs on the Nalthoran ships," Syne reported as he completed his scans.

"It's not the Neo-Beast?" Tora gave a puzzled look.

"No, not a trace," Syne replied, "Sensor scans have also detected considerable internal damage within the _Shiba_. It's almost as though drive plasma was flushed through the entire carrier."

"You mean, they're running on automatic?" Tora asked as the _Ascension_ and its escort approached the _Shiba_ under the cover of their cloaks.

"From the looks of it, yes," Syne responded, "I'm attempting to hack through their firewalls and disable the… Wait! Picking up an energy spike from the _Shiba_!"

"Maximum power to drives," Tora roared, "Full evasive!"

But it was too late. A brilliant pulse of light exploded from the Nalthoran carrier and dazzled the entire battlefield. The Tobari ships reappeared as their cloaks failed, the ships now drifting dead in space. Only the flagship had some power left, despite the loss of its cloak.

"What the hell just hit us?!" Tora demanded as the emergency lighting continued to dim.

"Sensors are offline, but I guess it was a powerful electromagnetic pulse," Syne muttered, "Eighty percent of ship systems are now offline."

What remained of the _Ascension_'s point defences continued to flail helplessly at the approaching Nalthoran ships. The _Shiba_ now advanced on the disabled Tobari flagship, ready to finish the job.

Then the _Shiba_'s hull was dotted with brilliant explosions as ion beams came out of nowhere and scorched across the carrier. Nalthoran frigates became fireballs as their reactor cores exploded from the sudden and vicious attack.

All around the hapless _Ascension_, several T-MAT megaships emerged from cloak, their rapid fire ion cannons making short work of the rogue Nalthoran fleet. Another salvo of ion beams shattered the _Shiba_ completely, sending the carrier's wreckage careening through space.

"Thank the Emerald Star…" Tora sighed in relief as the megaships began launching repair craft to assist the _Ascension_.

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_, docked with Tanis Base:**

The Hiigaran Qwaar Jet Cor class dreadnaught _Eidolon_ now lay in the arms of New Tanis Base. The test launch was almost an embarrassment, with the epitome of Hiigaran space technology losing main power because of a botched attempt to raise shields. Thankfully, Kiir's pride and the _Eidolon_'s reputation remained intact largely due to the fact that the dreadnaught had managed to win against two heavy destroyers and a battlecruiser despite running on auxiliary power.

Now the _Eidolon_ was sitting back in dock awaiting the replacement of its main power conduit. Already Kro was storming through the base, reprimanding the engineers who had miscalculated the power requirements of the dreadnaught. Such errors could not be tolerated – after all, what if the _Eidolon_ had lost main power in the middle of Hiigaran-Vaygr diplomatic discussions?

General Soban took this chance to take a proper look around the dreadnaught. It was certainly just as large, if not bigger, than his previous ship _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_. The key difference was that _Eidolon_ was specifically built to suit Hiigaran use, such as properly-built quarters that were luxurious as compared with the hastily-modified rooms on the _Gatekeeper_.

He approached the Engineering section of the _Eidolon_, where the ship's revolutionary power core was. In the past, it had been deemed impossible to build warships bigger than a battlecruiser class due to the limitations of fusion reactor technology. It had been determined that with current fusion technology standards, any ship heavier than a battlecruiser could not power the weapons that would justify the high cost of such a chassis.

This also explained why the monolithic mothership, shipyard and command ship class vessels had somewhat low firepower for tonnage as compared with other dedicated warships in the fleet. A probable exception to this theory would be the Explorer series of command ships, where the Siege Cannon allowed them the power to go head on against enemy fleets without escorts. However, if one were to calculate the Siege Cannon's firepower-time ratio, the Explorer would still fall far behind the battlecruiser in terms of firepower over time.

It was only with the discovery of the Grand Core and the Quantum Tapper technology that came with it that Hiigaran scientists were finally able to circumvent this obstacle.

Soban entered the massive Engineering section, which housed key components of the _Eidolon_'s fusion drives, the Far Jumper module, the Hyperphase Drive, and the almighty Quantum Phase reactor core.

The reactor core itself was a large spherical core suspended by a vertical column of metal. The core also had several transparent viewing panels that allowed engineers to inspect its condition. Attached to the core were eight smaller pipelines that led away to the eight corners of the cubic framework holding the reactor in place. The pipelines pulsed with the soft blue glow of quantum energy while the core itself contained a brilliant sphere of light which dazzled like a kaleidoscope of colour.

Soban shuddered to think of the consequences of a reactor failure, but as Kiir had assured him earlier on, shutting down the reactor in an emergency was 'quite easy to accomplish.'

"General Soban, what brings you here?" Idus Somtaaw greeted as he walked over after inspecting the Quantum Phase reactor.

"Please, just keep it as Captain," Soban requested.

"If that's how you like it, Captain," Idus smiled as he gestured to the reactor, "Quite an amazing baby this is, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is," Soban agreed, "Though I'd hate to think what would happen if the reactor blew."

"Well, it'd be most ideal for kamikaze missions," Idus laughed, "I'd expect it to take out a good chunk of any fleet around us."

"So, how much longer will it be before _Eidolon_ can launch?" Soban asked as he watched the other engineers working on the main power conduit below the reactor.

"At the rate we're going, we can get main power back up in an hour or so," Idus estimated, "Why? Do we have to go anywhere soon?"

"Kiir's got a diplomatic meeting with the Vaygr," Soban explained.

"Ah, the Vaygr," Idus muttered, "Misled people they were. No wonder Kiir's using the _Eidolon_."

"Misled?" Soban asked, surprised that Idus had used such a mild word. Mentioning the same V word to other Hiigarans would have solicited an impressive string of colourful and vengeful linguistic terms that even the warrior Kiith were shy to use.

"Well, they did kill many innocents across the Inner Rim, as well as fling a few atmosphere deprivation weapons at Hiigara, but that wasn't really the Vaygr's fault," Idus commented, "It's not that the Vaygr were bad, it's just that their leaders were."

Soban remained silent as he considered Idus' words very carefully.

"Let's suppose Karan, heaven forbid, had gone the way of Makaan," Idus suggested, "You know, with the Second Core and all that Prophecy crap. If that were the case, who's to say that Hiigara wouldn't have gone the same route as the Vaygr?"

"But the Vaygr attacked again after the End Time, when Makaan was dead" Soban argued, "Remember that they wiped out Commander Hyll and the defence fleet after the Exodus."

"Again, that can probably be attributed to whoever was leading them after Makaan," Idus calmly replied, "Given that they probably have a better leader now, since they are requesting to establish diplomatic relations, we really ought to give them a chance to prove themselves otherwise."

"That is certainly a very different viewpoint you have, Idus," Soban admitted.

"Well, I believe that every sentient race has a good side to it deep down inside," Idus concluded, "The Mythra included."

"What?!" Soban exclaimed, "Idus, you must be kidding me. An ancient race that thirsts for conquest and the destruction of everything but itself? Good?"

"Again, you can't blame the Mythra," Idus countered, "I don't think it's their innate nature to do such a thing, since they're merely executing tasks according to their programming."

"So we blame the 'leader' again?" Soban asked, "This time, the one who programmed them?"

Idus shrugged and replied, "That is up to you to decide, but remember it is not the Mythra that are at fault."

Soban fell silent as Idus walked away to continue his inspection rounds. The Mythra – good? It was too fantastic a possibility for him to conceive.

* * *

**Onboard the _Legacy of Kharak_, the Gate of Hara:**

Eefrit knew that the situation was not looking good. He had already lost a good third of his fleet while the Mythra had only lost a few frigates and destroyers. And that was without the Mythra using their main weapons, which Kiir had termed "Ionic Shock Cannons."

But now, the Mythra looked like they had tired of playing with their food, and were moving to deal the decisive blow. Both Spheres had lined up in a row and were aiming the huge apertures at the desperate Hiigaran fleet. The rest of the Mythra ships moved hastily away as the crimson light began building within the cannons.

The _Legacy_ would not be able to withstand an attack of that magnitude in its current condition. In spite of the excessive use of quantum distortion fields, enough firepower had gotten through to reduce the _Legacy_'s hull integrity to a shaky forty percent. Making matters worse was that the Mythra had figured out how to disable hyperspacing in the immediate vicinity by using their own Timespace Drives to disrupt the surrounding fabric of space time sufficiently to prevent a jump.

"Talos, please tell me the distress calls got through," Eefrit uttered as the _Legacy_ tried to limp away from the Spheres' firing arcs along with the rest of the damaged fleet.

"I'm afraid I cannot confirm that," Talos conceded, "The space time disruption is causing interference to sensors. In the same way, it might have jammed our attempts at communications. The only way we'll figure out if the calls went through is if help arrives just about now."

"Well, it looks to me that we won't be getting help anytime soon," Eefrit responded as the crimson light built to a maximum within the Spheres. Then the light sprang forth as the cannons unleashed their payload, the pulses of pure energy streaking towards the trapped Hiigaran fleet.

And then a quantum wavefront opened up and swept through the _Legacy_, spiriting the Mothership and its fleet away from impending doom.

"Fret not, your call got through," Yuno's crackly voice came in over the barely-functioning communications systems, "Welcome to the Grand Core Express. Destination: Home."

* * *

**Onboard the _Tempest_, Northern Outer Rim:**

"Niel, can I speak with you for a moment?" Ecron called out to his former classmate in the military academy. The Taiidani looked at Ecron nervously and nodded.

Ecron quickly walked up to him and pulled him into his quarters, locking the doors securely.

"What the hell happened back there at the ready room?" Ecron demanded, "You experienced the Neo-Beast War first hand. You saw the Hiigarans' actions towards us during that time. What did you support the Republic war against them now?!"

"Vorshan… he had a point, you know…" Niel began stammering.

"Oh really?" Ecron asked sarcastically, "So every time the Hiigarans build a new ship it's for the purpose of dominating the Galaxy?"

"What… what other reason could there be…" Niel responded, his voice softening to a whisper.

"Going by that logic, can you explain why the Hiigarans haven't just done so with the _Koshiir Ra_?" Ecron snapped, angry that one of his closest friends should betray him in such a political debacle, "We all know that _Koshiir Ra_ alone would allow them to just walk all over the rest of us!"

Ecron intensified his stare at the cowering Taiidani, making sure his gaze penetrated all the way to the person's soul. Finally Neil broke under the pressure.

"I'm so sorry, Ecron…" Neil blurted uncontrollably, trying his best to keep his emotions from bringing tears to his eyes, "I had no choice…"

"No choice?" Ecron was surprised, "What do you mean? What has Vorshan got to do with all of this?"

"He… he kidnapped my entire family… threatened to give them the Qwaar Jet treatment if I didn't comply…"

"The Qwaar Jet treatment," Ecron uttered, "By Sajuuk…"

Ecron knew immediately what Neil was referring to. The Qwaar Jet treatment was the most unimaginable form of torture known to the Taiidan, and used only to interrogate prisoners who refused to crack in spite of all other methods. It involved the injection of specially-modified nanites that would disperse themselves throughout the body of the subject at hand. At the touch of a button, the nanites would activate and incapacitate a specific part of the subject's anatomy by generating an intense localised electrical current that would fry the surrounding flesh and burn it slowly from inside out. Furthermore, the electrical current was specifically configured such that it would also stimulate every pain receptor there was in the area, ensuring that the maximum possible pain was achieved.

Ecron was jerked abruptly from his thoughts when a loud explosion assaulted his ears. The next moment, he saw Neil on the floor with a gaping wound through his torso. He turned to see the doors to his quarters completely blown to pieces.

And there was Vorshan, standing with a smirk on his face and arms crossed over his chest.

"Vorshan…" Ecron growled as he reached for his plasma pistol.

"Looks like you delved a little too deep into this one, Admiral," Vorshan spoke smugly, "Now I had better finish you before Security gets here…"

With lightning-quick reflexes, Ecron whipped out his pistol and fired at the advisor, the pulse of superheated plasma hitting Vorshan squarely in the torso. Vorshan gave a surprised look as the plasma pulse exploded, the shockwave flinging Ecron backwards. Ecron coughed and tried to wave the smoke from his eyes, his hands still on his pistol and ready to fire another time.

And then, a figure stepped out from the smoke – only it wasn't Vorshan.

It was an _android_, its metallic body glinting in the room's light.

Ecron was horrified.

"Now you just had to go and interfere with my hologram," the android muttered as it pointed a finger at Ecron. Ecron sensed the danger and jumped out of the way moments before a pulse of ionic energy crackled forward, slamming into the wall and leaving a crater in its metallic surface.

Ecron aimed his pistol and fired again, only to have the android dodge it effortlessly. The robotic creature moved quickly and pinned Ecron down before he could react. The Taiidan Admiral struggled valiantly against the android's grip, but there was no way for years of strength training to overcome the uncanny strength of the thing.

"Good bye, Admiral," the android whispered as it raised a metallic finger to Ecron's head.

"Oh no you don't," Ecron yelled as he twiddled his pistol to overload. A massive electrical current pulsed through his body and into the android, which was flung backwards by the shock. The Admiral struggled to his feet, barely conscious from the electric shock. He vaguely heard footsteps as the security personnel swarmed in and cocked their plasma rifles at the android.

"You're… surrounded… whatever you… you are…" Ecron managed to say as he slumped onto one of the officers for support, "Give… it… up…"

The android looked around itself briefly, then stood straight up. The voice of Vorshan was immediately replaced by something mechanical and computerised.

"_The Mythra do not surrender," _the android chirped as it exploded.


	7. Digging Deeper

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 6: DIGGING DEEPER**

* * *

**Onboard the _Sajuuk Khar_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

"Good heavens…" Eefrit uttered when he saw the damage from the _Sajuuk Khar_.

The _Legacy of Kharak_ looked far worse than its computers had indicated. There was a gaping frigate-sized hole in the Mothership Door, along with large patches of black melted metal scattered all over the ship. Certainly the Mothership would not have survived a prolonged battle with two Mythra fleets.

The rest of the fleet looked no better, with ships that had most of their armour torn off and barely-functional engines. The super capital vessels were worst off – some had nearly been ripped in two by the aggressive Mythra attacks. Only the newer _Horizon_ and its successor, the Horizon II class _Eclipse_, had managed to escape with minimal damage to their hulls, testament to the work that had gone into creating the next generation of Hiigaran warships.

"You definitely proved the point that a fleet-wide upgrade is long overdue," Yuno commented, "Even as we speak, _Sajuuk Khar_'s crews are working hard to replace the fleet with the new ships based on Kiir's reverse-engineered Progenitor tech."

"Well, they need to work fast," Eefrit muttered as he remembered the sudden and unexpected attack of not one, but two Mythra Spheres, "The longer that Gate remains operational, the more risk we face with a fleet that's not up to par."

"That is true indeed. In fact, the Explorer IV class vessels _Kuun Lan II_ and _Eheb San_ are en route to the Shining Hinterlands for their maiden mining mission," Yuno explained, "All other resourcing fleets have also been despatched to gather additional materials for the construction."

"What about the _Paaura_? Why hasn't General Qwaar been despatched?"

_"Paaura_'s currently in dock undergoing an upgrade to the Explorer IV design. General Qwaar's fleet will remain in defence of Hiigara."

"I see," Eefrit responded, "Has there been any word of the new warship Kiir's been keeping mum about?"

"The only information I've received is that Kiir and Soban have taken the ship to a diplomatic meeting with the Vaygr," Yuno replied.

"That's insane!" Eefrit exclaimed when the odds fell into place, "And he still insists on keeping the _Koshiir Ra_ here?!"

"Well, Kiir kept reassuring me that the _Eidolon_ was more than capable of surviving any hostile encounter," Yuno muttered, "That's all that he gave out – the ship's name."

"_Eidolon_ eh?" Eefrit mouthed the word slowly, "Let's hope it lives up to its name."

* * *

**Onboard the _Ascension_, the Shining Hinterlands:**

"Repairs to the hyperspace module are complete," Syne reported, "The T-MAT repair drones have done a terrific job."

"We can never be more grateful," Tora admitted as he opened communications, "T-MAT fleet, I, General Tora of the Tobari forces, am most thankful for your assistance in our time of need."

_"It was only our duty in a time when Peace is threatened yet again,"_ the T-MAT echoed back, _"We request that you transmit all information you have on the fleet that attacked your escort."_

"At once," Tora nodded at Syne, who quickly tapped a few buttons to transmit whatever sensor data they had managed to salvage from the EMP blast. It took the T-MAT mere moments to process the information with their Unbound minds.

_"Your information is most intriguing, we shall present it to the Council,"_ came the collective reply, _"Will you require an escort to Tenhauser?"_

"I think not," Tora refused politely, "I think it would be far safer to return to the Eastern Outer Rim. The bulk of my forces remain there, and should provide adequate protection."

_"As you wish."_

The T-MAT repair drones zipped back into the repair ships, which quickly returned to dock with the larger megaships. Then the T-MAT fleet, numbering a total of seven megaships, powered up their hyperspace modules and vanished from realspace.

Tora turned to his helm officer, who nodded in response and quickly keyed in the necessary coordinates.

"General, what do you intend to do once we return to the main fleet?" Syne asked from his station.

"I guess our best bet is to find out what's really going on around here," Tora sighed, "I understand our cloaking technology gives us the advantage?"

"Our cloaking fields remain impenetrable by current Galactic proximity sensors, except for T-MAT and Hiigaran sensors," Syne replied, "Why do you ask?"

"It's time to take the initiative," Tora declared, "We're going to pay the Vaygr a visit and figure this out once and for all."

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_, hyperspace transit:**

"Holographic and sensor jamming systems are running at one hundred percent power," Taruur announced, "Captain, I don't see the need for us to disguise ourselves."

"Don't ask me, ask Kiir," Soban shrugged as his viewscreen told him it was the Hiigaran carrier _Khontala_, not the dreadnaught _Eidolon_, which was travelling through hyperspace at the moment.

"I have my reasons for the disguise," Kiir answered from the back, "Firstly, we need to figure out the Vaygr's true intentions in this meeting. If they truly intend to turn around and stab us in the back, a lone carrier would be a very tempting target."

"What if the Vaygr really mean to establish a peace this time?" Taruur asked.

"Then it'd be best that we meet them as a lightly-armed carrier," Kiir replied, "You understand that diplomatic meetings and warships do not go along very well."

Taruur nodded in understanding. If the Vaygr saw them coming in a heavily-armed dreadnaught class vessel, they could very well see it as a military threat and scuttle whatever peace talks there would be between the two civilisations. Furthermore, as Kiir had explained back onboard New Tanis Base, _Eidolon_ was still supposed to remain under wraps until the Galactic situation permitted it.

However, he wasn't sure if this disguise would help. After all, the Taiidan Republic had already sighted them. For all he knew, word about the Hiigarans' new dreadnaught class warship could be spreading like wildfire through the Galaxy right now.

"How much more time before we reach the Roa System?" Soban asked impatiently.

"At our current hyperspace velocity, another thirty minutes or so," Sora answered from the helm station, his attention focused on the navigational data.

"Aalcor, will we be able to raise both shields without frying the power conduit?" Soban enquired, anxious that the problem could pose unnecessary risk to their mission.

"I've run a few diagnostics from here. If the readings are correct, the power conduit should be more than capable of withstanding the maximum power output of the reactor core," Aalcor reassured, "I've also gotten in touch with Idus, and he says the power conduit couldn't be in better condition."

"General, I mean, Captain," Eliir alerted, "Long range sensors have picked up a gravity well up ahead, the jump will be interrupted in fifteen seconds."

"I presume it's not a natural gravwell?" Soban glanced at Sora, who confirmed Soban's query with a nod.

"Take us into the gravwell. I think we need to see what the Vaygr are up to," Soban ordered, "Alert all departments to stand by for jump interruption."

"Warning, we will intercept the gravwell in three seconds," Eliir said as the ship went to red alert, the crimson warning lights flashing through the bridge.

Had any other ship gone headfirst into a gravity well at Far Jumper velocities, the result would have been damage to hyperdrive systems as well as injuries from inertia damper failure. In the case of the _Eidolon_, the massive dreadnaught's inertia dampers absorbed the blow effortlessly, giving the ship scarcely a wobble as its hyperspace module compensated and brought them back to realspace.

"Hyperspace sequence halted, all systems online," Eliir announced.

"Alright then, time to find out what the Vaygr are up to," Soban muttered as he drummed his fingers on his console, "Aalcor, raise shields immediately."

Aalcor nodded and tapped a few buttons while Soban waited in anticipation. The lights on the bridge dimmed momentarily and everyone held their breath. To everyone's relief, the lights quickly returned to their normal brightness.

"Primary and secondary shields online, all other power systems nominal," Aalcor reported calmly.

"That's good to hear," Soban smiled as he turned to look at the main viewscreens, "Eliir, what sort of resistance are we…"

Soban paused mid-sentence when he saw the fleet around them on the viewscreen. Unless the Vaygr forces had undergone a massive ship redesign in the past few years, there was no way for this fleet to possibly be Vaygr.

It looked to him like a Taiidan Republic fleet, and it was substantial. There was a Republican carrier flanked by a dual ion frigate force of no fewer than twenty ships.

"What in Kharak's name…" Soban uttered in disbelief.

"Sensors and recognition codes confirm it is the Taiidan Republic carrier _Destiny_ and its fleet," Eliir exclaimed in sheer shock. She too had been expecting to see a Vaygr strike fleet.

"I'm not surprised," Kiir muttered, "The Republic probably meant it when they threatened a war."

"Should we drop our disguise?" Taruur asked, his hand hovering over the control panel.

"Nay, keep it on," Soban responded, "Eliir, can you hail the…"

Klaxons started wailing as the Taiidan fleet opened fire, the carrier launching its complement of the latest interceptors developed by Taiidan scientists. Soban recognised them immediately as the new Triikor X class heavy interceptors, having been briefed by Fleet Intelligence some weeks earlier. The Triikor X was basically a Triikor chassis that had been expanded by thirty percent, equipped with quadruple rapid-fire mass drivers as compared with a single weapon on the original Triikor.

The Taiidan dual ion frigates were also a new design that had been developed several months ago. After years of experimenting, Taiidan scientists had finally been able to shrink ion cannons sufficiently to fit two onto a single frigate chassis. The result was a new ion frigate that packed the punch of two.

General Soban felt thankful for the _Eidolon_'s primary distortion field.

"Primary shields down to ninety-six percent," Aalcor updated after a salvo of forty high-powered ion beams sizzled into the ship's distortion field. Soban was not surprised. After all, the _Eidolon_'s primary distortion field had been designed to withstand superior Mythra weaponry.

"Taruur, I presume that _Khontala_'s been technically destroyed?" Soban asked.

"Actually, no," Taruur responded as he showed Soban the image of the Hiigaran carrier. Going by the hologram, their "ship," the _Khontala_ was now spewing drive plasma from its ruined drives as well as from the various construction subsystems across its hull, "The ionic attack was aimed at disabling us, though it could have easily vaporised the carrier in one hit."

"So we're dead in space?" Soban whistled.

"Right now, the _Khontala_ would have lost all main drive power and all construction systems, as well as suffered heavy damage to the outer hull," Taruur answered, completely awed by the power of that one salvo, "Basically, we're screwed."

"Kiir, I love this Mimic mode of yours," Soban grinned. Kiir merely shrugged and pointed at the viewscreen, which showed the _Destiny_ lumbering closer to them.

"Eliir, have you managed to establish communications?" Soban asked as the Taiidan carrier came closer and closer, its fleet of dual ion frigates making way for the super capital ship.

"They're not responding to hails," Eliir replied with a puzzled tone in her voice, "The strange thing is that I'm not picking up any life signs onboard those ships."

"No life signs?" Soban's eyes widened.

"Eliir's right, I haven't picked up anything telepathically so far," Kiir muttered, his eyes closed in concentration, "At such close range, I should be picking up a few hundred minds by now."

"The hell…" Soban uttered as the carrier continued to approach them.

The Taiidan Republic carrier _Destiny_ approached the _Khontala_, which was mortally wounded and drifted helplessly in space. The carrier finally cut off its main drives, the super capital ship coming halting mere metres before contacting the invisible distortion field. Thanks to _Eidolon_'s superior sensor jamming suite, the _Destiny_ detected no such field, or the massive dreadnaught hiding behind its hologram.

Then a small Taiidan boarding frigate launched itself from the _Destiny_'s side frigate bay. The frigate hovered in space for a moment, then aligned itself such that it was pointing towards the _Khontala_.

"Captain, sensors indicate that frigate is using a holographic device," Eliir reported as she tapped furiously away at her station, "I'm attempting to confirm the vessel's true identity, but it's using a jamming field of extraordinary power…"

"It's the Mythra," Kiir stated flatly as he stood up from his seat, "I designed _Eidolon_ such that its sensors can immediately penetrate any cloak or hologram based on current Galactic technology. There's no doubt about it – that ship is a Mythra vessel in disguise."

"So what steps should we take next?" Soban looked towards Kiir for advice.

"I don't know what the Mythra are doing here with one spy frigate, and how it commandeered an entire Taiidan Republic carrier fleet," Kiir said as he walked up beside Soban's seat, "So we need to find out without alerting the main Mythra forces."

"Do you think that frigate already knows who we really are?" Soban enquired.

"I doubt it," Kiir replied, "They'd have either fled or sought to destroy us if it saw through our disguise. Perhaps Mythra frigates lack sensors powerful enough to penetrate our jamming."

"Very well then," Soban turned away from Kiir to give his orders, "Taruur, I want you to drop our disguise on my mark. Aalcor, once our disguise goes down, take out the frigates with the torpedoes and ion cannons. Use the turbopulsars to disable both the _Destiny_ and the Mythra frigate."

Aalcor and Taruur nodded as Soban turned to face his helm officer, Sora.

"Sora, power up the Far Jumper module," Soban ordered, "Be prepared to prevent them from escaping into hyperspace."

"Roger that Captain," Sora answered as he keyed the necessary commands into his console.

The so-called "boarding frigate" now started moving towards the disguised dreadnaught. In order to let it get closer, Aalcor opened a small hole in the distortion field to let it through. The frigate moved for another few seconds before stopping.

Then the frigate shimmered slightly as it fired a thin metallic tube at the "Hiigaran carrier," only to have it bounce harmlessly off the _Eidolon_'s secondary close-wrapping energy shields.

"Drop hologram now!" Soban exclaimed.

Within moments, the smouldering Hiigaran carrier _Khontala_ shimmered away and changed shape to become the awe-inspiring dreadnaught _Eidolon_. Armour-piercing fusion torpedoes issued immediately from the launching bays, the guided bombs sailing gracefully through space before impacting their targets.

Sixteen frigates blew apart as the heavy fusion torpedoes, designed to carry twice the payload of a Vaygr heavy missile, pierced through their armour and detonated from within. The remaining four frigates exploded as the heavy ion cannons came online, the four blue beams of energy stabbing into the smaller capital ships.

As the Taiidan frigates met a spectacularly quick end, the _Eidolon_'s turbopulsars lanced out at both the carrier and the Mythra frigate. The _Destiny_ attempted to escape to hyperspace, only to have its quantum wavefront forcefully closed by _Eidolon_'s own Far Jumper module.

The sudden and unexpected assault caused the Mythra frigate to lose its disguise, revealing the small oval-shaped vessel. Its armour provided more resistance, but Aalcor had already compensated by diverting more of _Eidolon_'s turbopulsars to the task. Blue pulses of light pummelled into the Mythra ship, disabling engines and weapons with several precise strikes.

Fifteen seconds later, the engagement was over. The _Eidolon_ powered down main weapons, its task accomplished. Both the Mythra frigate and the Taiidan carrier were drifting dead in space, having lost all power and means of movement.

"Call for reinforcements from Tanis Base," Kiir ordered, "I want a full and thorough analysis of both vessels. Meanwhile, since they're not going anywhere, we should continue on to our diplomatic meeting."

Soban nodded and watched his viewscreen as the _Eidolon_ shimmered away and became the _Khontala_ once again, the carrier now good as new. Then the ship was swallowed up by the brilliant blue screen of its quantum wavefront.

* * *

**Onboard the _Tempest_, Northern Outer Rim:**

Admiral Ecron opened his eyes groggily only to close them in pain as the bright ceiling lights stabbed away at his sensitive vision. He moaned slightly and waited a few seconds for his eyes to forgive him. Meanwhile, Ecron mentally checked his limbs for any problems. A sharp pain surged through his right arm as he tried to move it. Instinct told him it was broken.

The Taiidan Admiral opened his eyes slowly, allowing ample time for the pupils to adjust and constrict accordingly. Ecron quickly realised he was in the command station's sickbay.

Suddenly his mind went into overdrive, reminding him that Vorshan was a Mythra spy, that he had ordered a Republic invasion into Hiigaran space, that the Council would soon be persuaded to take action against the Hiigarans as well. Ecron quickly sat up and tried to shake the numbness from his legs. It was then that a doctor came in and quickly walked up to his bed.

"Sir Ecron, you've had a minor concussion along with a broken arm," the doctor spoke quickly as he tried to stop the Admiral from getting to his feet, "What you need now is rest, especially after that electric shock you gave yourself."

"Doc, I have some urgent business to attend to," Ecron protested.

"I'm afraid it'll have to wait until tomorrow," the doctor replied firmly, "You're not getting out of bed today."

"Please, this concerns the peace and security of the Galaxy!" Ecron exclaimed, "I need to inform the Parliament before it's too late."

"But sir…"

"Just let me do what I want for the next hour and I'll rest up here for the following forty-eight," Ecron offered, staring straight into the doctor's eyes.

The doctor stared back at the Admiral for a few moments before relenting. He sighed and walked away from the bed.

"Be back in an hour, or I'll relieve you of duty in my position as Chief Medical Officer," the doctor warned.

"I will," Ecron reassured as he got up and rushed out of the Infirmary with a cast on his right arm. He nearly stumbled at the doorway in his haste, but regained his footing thanks to the assistance of a passing security officer.

"You alright, Admiral?" the officer asked as he looked concernedly at the injured Admiral.

"I'm fine," Ecron replied hurriedly before walking off briskly.

There was no time to lose. Anytime now, the Taiidan Navy would launch off into hyperspace and mount a massive assault on Hiigaran assets. Once that happened, old tempers would flare and both civilisations would plunge into unending war once more. He needed to stop the attack now.

Ecron turned a few corners and quickly reached the command bridge of the station. It was certainly helpful that the Infirmary was located so close to the main bridge. He walked through the bridge doors, and saw the Taiidan Navy assembled before the command station.

"Command to fleet, you're clear to jump," an officer spoke into the comlink.

"Roger Command, initiating jump procedures now…"

"Wait!" Ecron yelled as he rushed forward and grabbed the handheld comlink from the officer's hand, "Abort the jump! Repeat, abort the jump!"

"Sir? What are you doing here?!" the officer exclaimed in an annoyed voice, "This is on Parliament's orders! You can't revoke it now!"

"In case you haven't heard, Vorshan was a Mythra spy!" Ecron yelled back, "We've been manipulated all this while!"

"Fleet to Command, aborting jump procedures, discharging hyperspace modules now…"

At that moment, the bridge doors slid open and the various members of parliament walked in. They nodded at the officer, who bowed apologetically at Ecron.

"Admiral Ecron, a shuttle is waiting to take you onboard the _Merciless II_," a senior minister informed, "Our families are safe now thanks to your discovery, but the Galaxy remains at tremendous risk."

"I understand," Ecron replied as he followed the other officers' lead towards the doors, "I will meet the Council in person and explain the situation."

As the bridge doors slid shut behind Ecron, the minister shimmered away to reveal an android. Audible gasps sounded through the bridge as security personnel quickly hoisted their weapons and fired. The shots passed through air as the android dodged the plasma pulses. The mechanical figure grinned evilly and pointed a finger at the charging officers. A blinding flash of light reduced every Taiidani officer on the bridge to dust.

The android walked slowly up to the control panel and placed its hand on the controls. The robot interfaced quickly with the main computer and did its work, bathing the bridge in the crimson glow of warning lights.

"_Self-destruct initiated, station-wide lockdown in place. This station will self-destruct in five minutes."_

* * *

"Damn!" Ecron cursed as he banged futilely at the door controls. The doors remained shut, keeping him and the escorting officers sealed into a section of the corridor. The other officers continued to fire their plasma rifles at the sealed doors on the other side, the shots of energy slowly but steadily wearing the metal down.

"_Four minutes to self-destruct,"_ the computer announced calmly.

"Admiral, I've contacted the fleet," an officer reported, "A boarding frigate's coming in to extract us right now."

"I doubt there'll be time…" Ecron muttered hopelessly as the bridge doors remained sealed tight.

"Sir, they're using the Omega manoeuvre," the officer added.

"By Sajuuk!" Ecron exclaimed.

The Omega manoeuvre was a tactic first used in the evacuation of the carrier _Quasar_. The carrier's reactor core had been badly damaged by an asteroid impact and was on the verge of destroying the ship. All but the bridge crews had evacuated by escape pod due to a computer malfunction that locked down the bridge. The only option was to use a boarding frigate to pull the crews out manually.

However, given the limited time they had, there was no way to do a proper access, which was accomplished by slowly carving a hole in the ship's hull and then boarding the vessel via connecting forcefields. In a last-ditch attempt to save the bridge crews, the frigate's captain had decided to directly blast a hole in the carrier using the frigate's mass driver cannon. Then as the crews were sucked out into space, he used forcefields to capture the lot before the atmospheric pressure dipped to dangerous levels.

Ecron had heard about the legendary manoeuvre. He just didn't expect to be saved the same way.

"Keep to the bridge side of the corridor Admiral, I think they're going to…"

A deafening bang shook Ecron to the core as a large metal slug pierced through the corridor and tore away much of the internal structure of the place. Ecron immediately felt himself fly towards the hull breach as the corridor's atmosphere began blowing out into space. He soon felt his lungs expand as the air pressure plummeted drastically…

The next minute, Ecron slammed against the hard invisible wall of the forcefield bubble. He glanced around and felt his chest to make sure his lungs hadn't exploded outwards. To his relief, there was no bloody mess where his lungs were supposed to be. The only problem was that pain was flaring up in his broken arm from the shock.

The forcefield retracted into the frigate's airlock, pushing them all into the safety of the boarding ship. Once the forcefield had pulled completely into the airlock, the heavy doors sealed shut as the frigate soared away at maximum burn. Ecron looked through the nearest viewport and saw the same manoeuvre being repeated all over the station. However, it would only save those who were in corridors near the station's exterior hull.

Ecron closed his eyes when he saw explosions occur along the reactor containment section of the command station. He could imagine the tendrils of superheated plasma snaking through the corridors of the station, devouring and burning any unlucky Taiidani who was trapped deep in the _Tempest_'s interior.

Then the boarding frigate shuddered violently as the station disappeared in a flash of vermillion flame, the shockwave reverberating through the rest of the gathered Taiidan Navy.

Admiral Ecron, where do we go from here? The frigate's captain asked over the intercom.

"Take us onboard the _Merciless II_," Ecron replied, "Order the fleet to regroup at the nearest space colony."

At once, Admiral.

Ecron watched the shape of the new flagship _Merciless II_ loom up before them. Saddened as he was by the loss of countless lives, the Republic had to move on, with or without its Government.

War had come once again.


	8. Sudden Assault

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 7: SUDDEN ASSAULT**

* * *

**Onboard the _Sajuuk Khar_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

"I've just received word from New Tanis Base," Yuno reported as her hologram flickered into view before Eefrit, _"Eidolon_ was intercepted by a Taiidan Republic fleet."

Eefrit's eyes widened when he heard the news, "Are they alright?"

"The _Eidolon_'s completely fine," Yuno reassured, "They're back on their way to the Roa System."

"What about the Taiidan fleet? I didn't expect them to declare full-scale war this soon."

"Well, the fleet they encountered _wasn't_ in control of the Taiidan Republic, " Yuno revealed, "It was under the control of a Mythra frigate."

Eefrit stared in dumb shock when Yuno mentioned the M-word. A Taiidan Republic carrier fleet, under the command of a Mythra vessel?

"Preliminary reports from the New Tanis salvage group indicate that the ships had no crews onboard," Yuno stated, "The carrier _Destiny_ shows evidence of being flushed completely by drive plasma. They're still putting the pieces together though, and it'll be some time before the investigators can figure out what happened."

"Flushed completely by drive plasma…" Eefrit muttered as he tried to imagine the _Destiny_'s final moments – a wave of superheated gas surging through the corridors, reducing any and all life to atoms of carbon.

_"Eidolon_ also managed to disable the Mythra frigate," Yuno added, "A rare find indeed. However, the salvage team's making sure to wipe out the computer cores first before boarding the ship."

"Of course they'd have to," Eefrit agreed, "Who knows what the AI would do to intruders. By the way, how much longer will it take for the _Legacy_'s repairs to be completed?"

"Give the crews another day or so, and the _Legacy_'s all yours again," Yuno replied, "Even then, I do not think it'd be wise to mount another attack on the Gate of Hara."

"But Yuno, the longer that gate stays open, the more risk there is of the Mythra sending their entire fleet through the gate!"

"I understand your concerns, but our forces alone are not sufficient for the task," Yuno countered, "Destruction of the Gate will require the combined efforts of the other Galactic powers, which is why I'd prefer that you go to Tenhauser Station."

"You could help with the _Koshiir Ra_ you know."

"I'm afraid Kiir's orders are that _Koshiir Ra_ must remain in defence of Hiigara," Yuno shook her head, "And he's got a point. Since we have no idea on the size of Mythra forces already in the Galaxy, we need to maintain a substantial defence perimeter around Hiigara."

"If that's the case, I'll try to persuade the Council then," Eefrit said as he got up and prepared to leave, "Only a light escort's required I suppose."

"One carrier fleet should be more than sufficient," Yuno replied, "I'm relaying orders for the carrier _Veer Rak II_ to pick you up."

"Then I'll get going," Eefrit said as he left the bridge promptly.

* * *

**Onboard the _Ascension_, Eastern Outer Rim:**

The Tobari flagship hung silently in space, flanked by the rest of its fleet. The Tobari forces were not known for their military might – their heaviest ships were only destroyer class vessels. Even after the ancient Mythra were acknowledged as a credible threat, Tobari engineers had responded by merely designing a new heavy cruiser class chassis. This was certainly a far cry from the battlecruiser chassis that the other cultures were hastily integrating into their own navies.

But whatever the Tobari lacked in sheer size and armour, they made up for in speed, stealth and firepower. Their ships boasted firepower to tonnage ratios that were second only to the T-MAT and the Ancients' vessels.

And now, all of that raw power was going to be unleashed on the Warriors of the Fringe.

"General, all ships have reported in."

"Hyperspace modules fully charged."

General Tora inspected the readings from his station and nodded in satisfaction.

"General, I'm sure there are other ways of finding out," Syne advised, "Will you not consider sending a diplomatic mission instead?"

"Syne Alumani, I understand your concerns, but the Warriors of the Fringe are not a force to be trifled with," Tora warned, "Remember that even the ingenious Hiigarans were defeated by them once."

"Even then, surely there is no need for us to send the entire fleet?"

"We are moving into the Eastern Fringe on the assumption that the Vaygr still treat all other forces as hostiles," Tora reminded calmly, "Of course, since our primary intent is to establish whatever's going on, we will not fire unless fired upon."

"If the Vaygr see a force the size of our fleet, I'm sure they'd take it as a credible threat and fire in defence."

"That is why we will need to remain cloaked for the duration of the investigation. All ships but the flagship will stay hidden unless the Vaygr start to attack."

"If that's the case… then I guess we can go ahead," Syne admitted.

"Glad have you understand my reasons," Tora smiled slightly as he turned to face the rest of the bridge, "Initiate hyperspace jump!"

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_, high orbit over Roa III:**

"Hyperspace module disengaged, we have arrived at rendezvous point," Sora announced as the ship stabilised itself in normal space.

"Holographic and sensor jamming systems operating at maximum power," Taruur added, "We're still in disguise as the carrier _Khontala_."

"Maintain disguise and move forward at half speed," Soban ordered, "Eliir, do the sensors have anything on the Vaygr fleet?"

"Preliminary long range scans have picked up a single carrier in low orbit," the Sjet officer replied, "The carrier has a light escort of four heavy missile frigates."

"That's it?" Soban asked, incredulous at the somewhat minimal Vaygr presence here.

"There could be more hiding behind the planet's moon," Eliir gestured to the barren piece of rock peeking over the desert planet's horizon.

"I see…" Soban muttered, "Eliir, try hailing the Vaygr."

"There's no need to," Kiir spoke suddenly, "Our hyperspace exit will not have gone unnoticed. We should continue on our current course – they will contact us soon enough."

Soban shrugged and nodded at Sora to continue. As the disguised dreadnaught crept slowly towards the desert planet ahead of it, the bridge remained silent. The fact that they were a single lone ship in enemy territory made the tension almost unbearable. Of course, it helped that this single lone ship also happened to be one of the most powerful ships ever built in Galactic history.

A few minutes passed before the Vaygr carrier began to move, heading in the general direction of the _Eidolon_. Eliir's station began beeping urgently and she leapt into action.

"Captain! The Vaygr carrier is hailing us!" Eliir reported.

"Patch them through to the main channel," Soban said as he turned around to face Kiir, "Here it comes. You ready?"

Kiir nodded calmly and walked forward to the main comlink on Soban's station. He faced the buzzing comlink and took a deep breath.

"I am Kiir Sjet, Kiith'sa of Kiith Sjet and Leader of the Hiigaran Republic," Kiir began slowly in the most diplomatic voice he could muster, "We come in peace."

The comlink continued to buzz for a few unnerving seconds, during which every bridge officer's eyes were locked on the communications device. Then the buzzing cleared as the Vaygr transmitted a response.

"Play no tricks on us, Hiigaran," replied a gruff-sounding voice, "If you try to deceive us we will not hesitate to destroy you and your ship."

"Rest assured, we have come with no intents of deception whatsoever," Kiir lied through his teeth, hoping that a disguised dreadnaught would not offend the Vaygr too greatly.

"Keep to your promise," the voice responded before the transmission ended abruptly. Soban glared at Eliir, who shrugged helplessly.

"It's the Vaygr, they chose to end the communication," she admitted before another series of beeps captured her attention once more, "Priority alert! Sensors are picking up additional Vaygr ships emerging from the moon's shadow!"

"Details?" Soban asked nervously.

"At least five battlecruisers and three destroyers," Eliir answered anxiously, "Along with about thirty heavy missile frigates and a dozen assault frigates. I'm also picking up three carriers and two mothership class signatures among them!"

"Are they shipyards?"

"One of them is, but the other…" Eliir trailed off as she magnified the images from the long range visual sensors.

"By the Gods, it is another Flagship," Soban uttered.

"And with some design differences," Kiir noted, "I don't think the original design has the ship wrapped round that big gun there."

Kiir pointed at the magnified image, which showed a near-exact replica of the original Flagship commanded by Makaan. However, this new Flagship was considerably more massive than the old model. It could have easily been mistaken for a shipyard from afar.

The entire vessel seemed to be wrapped around a particularly large cannon that jutted out partially from the front of the chassis. Long trenches ran away from the front of the cannon and along the sides of the Flagship, reminding Soban of the similarly designed _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_.

"Wait a minute…" Soban said as the similarity between the two vessels came to mind, "Kiir, is that weapon what I think it is?"

"I get what you're driving at, but we will require additional confirmation," Kiir replied grimly, "Eliir, get us a full analysis of the Vaygr Flagship."

Eliir nodded and typed away at her station, commencing the deep scans that were made possible by _Eidolon_'s own impressive sensor suite. It took mere seconds for Eliir to complete the scans, and she too gaped at the results.

"Sir, that's a Phased Cannon Array," Eliir reported in shock, "It's on the same scale as the _Gatekeeper_'s own cannon array."

"I don't believe it – how the hell did the Vaygr manage to reverse engineer the thing so perfectly?" Soban demanded, "Our own scientists have barely managed to piece one together…"

"Soban, you must remember that the Vaygr have had more experience with the Progenitors' technology than us," Kiir reminded, "We learned about the Progenitors only when the Bentusi revealed the Prophecy to Karan, while the Vaygr have been dealing with them for months, even years, before their invasion into the Inner Rim. I guess it was only a matter of time before something like this turned up."

"Goodness…" Soban uttered as another fearful thought entered his mind, "Eliir, scan the Vaygr capital ships as well!"

Eliir tapped several other buttons and quickly zoomed in on the battlecruisers that were escorting the flagship. A few scans confirmed the worst.

"Captain, of the five battlecruisers, two have had their Trinity Cannons replaced by Phased Energy Cannons," Eliir stated flatly.

"By Sajuuk, Phased Energy Cannons?!" Soban exclaimed, his mind trying to come to terms with the fact that two of the battlecruisers shared the same main weapon as the _Eidolon_.

"I never would have expected the Vaygr to progress so quickly in the field of weapons science," Kiir admitted, "Taruur, please keep the disguise on at all costs. It would be best for us to avoid any military conflict at the moment."

"Affirmative," Taruur responded nervously as he rechecked the holographic projection and sensor jamming systems.

"Sir, the Vaygr flagship is hailing us," Eliir added, "It's an audio-visual feed. Patching them through to the main channel."

The images of the Vaygr fleet disappeared from the main viewscreen and were promptly replaced by that of a controller tank. Suspended within the life-sustaining fluid of the tank was the battle-scarred body of the new Vaygr leader, connected to his ship by a multitude of wires linked to his head. He was surprisingly well-built and muscular for an Unbound controller, and his face was youthful and faintly handsome.

And then he opened his fiery eyes, reminding everyone that they were still dealing with a Vaygr Warlord. That was one of the physical attributes that made a Vaygr warrior so terrifying to deal with in a duel – the cold emotionless eyes that flared with all the fire from a thousand battles.

"Kiir Sjet, I presume?" the powerful voice boomed across the bridge of the _Eidolon_, making the listening officers cower slightly in fear. The voice was deep and commanding, just like that of Makaan's, but it had a slightly different tone to it, like it was tired of the unending state of war between the two civilisations.

Kiir held his ground and nodded slightly, "Kiir Sjet I am. I suppose then that you are the new Vaygr Khar?"

"I am indeed the Vaygr Khar, Supreme Commander of the Warriors of the Fringe," the warlord replied, "They call me Vanaar."

"Very well then Vanaar," Kiir continued, addressing the Vaygr Khar by name, "We received word that you were interested in establishing diplomatic relations with Hiigara?"

"Yes indeed, and I feared that you would not grant us your presence in this star system," Vanaar answered, "But now that you're here, the discussion can go on as planned. Of course, we weren't counting on you coming in a warship as advanced as that."

Kiir was stunned. Vanaar had seen through the hologram and sensor jamming with one glimpse. He looked quickly at Taruur, who nodded to indicate that there was no malfunction whatsoever.

Then Kiir felt something reach through the void between their ships and touch his mind. He retreated one step, staring at the Vaygr Khar in surprise.

"You're psychic, aren't you?" Kiir asked.

Vanaar nodded slightly, "Yes I am, though I lack the other extraordinary power you possess, your ability to become Unbound with a thought."

Kiir smiled in response, "I guess those rumours have been spreading far faster than I would've thought."

He quickly gestured to Taruur to disable the disguise now that their cover had been blown. A few seconds later, the carrier _Khontala_ was replaced once more by the mighty dreadnaught _Eidolon_. The Vaygr fleet responded quickly – the carriers launching their lethal swarms of assault craft and laser corvettes. However, the strike craft merely moved into escort positions alongside the flagship, which continued on at a leisurely pace towards the _Eidolon_.

"I believe it'd be far more convenient for us to meet in person," Vanaar suggested.

"But first I will require some guarantees," Kiir quickly responded.

"I do not think that will be necessary. Surely a vessel as advanced as yours will have the means of halting all hyperspace activity in the region. Furthermore, should anything untoward happen, I would not feel comfortable taking my fleet into battle against your ship," Vanaar reasoned.

Kiir hesitated and looked quickly at Soban for suggestions.

"Personally, I think there's no harm in going," Soban whispered as he looked at Aalcor for confirmation. The Manaan officer tapped a few keys and nodded in agreement.

"See? Aalcor's confident of winning a battle against Vanaar's fleet. That should be comforting enough."

"If that's the case…" Kiir considered as he turned back to face the Vaygr Khar, "I'm sure you wouldn't mind my bringing of a small security detail?"

"Of course, of course…" Vanaar chuckled slightly, "I will await you on my flagship."

The viewscreen flickered and died as the transmission ended. Kiir turned around and headed for the door. To his surprise, Soban got up as well to go along with him.

"I suppose I could be part of the security detail," Soban spoke as he grabbed an ion pistol from beside his seat, "I haven't been involved in these ops since Nalthora."

"Fine by me," Kiir replied as they walked off the bridge.

* * *

**Onboard the _Merciless II_, high orbit over Taiidan colony world Koshiir:**

Ecron was seated in the flagship's sickbay looking through a pile of reports while a doctor attended to his broken arm. There was so much to be done now that their Parliament had been completely wiped out by the act of sabotage.

The Taiidan Republic was now in a state of emergency. Defence fleets throughout Taiidan space were now scrambling in preparation for the coming war, and colonies everywhere were shifting to the highest alert.

Months ago, the Taiidan Parliament had been arguing over the need for a dedicated military flagship. There was supposedly no need for a replacement for the _Merciless_ during what was deemed an era of peace. In the end, it had taken much persuasion and politicking on his part to authorise the construction of the new _Merciless II_ flagship.

And now it turned out that the flagship's services would be required once again – this time against the ancient enemy they assumed to have defeated in the Fields of Plaz.

But the new war would prove more difficult to handle than the battles against the Neo-Beast. According to all previous briefings by Hiigaran Intelligence, the Mythra were supposedly mere "computers" that used superior technology and firepower to achieve their purpose, thinking nothing of long-term strategising. However, the Mythra were actually using android spies to tear the Galaxy apart from within. That was a side of the Mythra that Ecron had not expected to see.

"Care to share your thoughts, Admiral?" the doctor asked. Alson happened to be one of the medical officers lucky enough to serve on more than one ship. Most other doctors tended to go down with the ship because of their complete and utter absorption into the task of saving lives – to the extent of disregarding their own. Alson would have shared a similar fate had another officer not decided to knock him out and push him into one of the _Merciless_' escape pods.

"Come to think of it, it may be us who underestimated the Mythra, not the other way round," Ecron muttered, "I never would've imagined that we'd have spies among us."

"Well, I thought spies were to be expected, especially after we beat them in the Plaz Nebula," the doctor replied as he finished his scans of Ecron's arm and proceeded to place it in a new cast.

"I admit that perhaps I had become complacent after our last victory," Ecron conceded, "But why wait five years? Why not strike us immediately after the last war?"

"Who knows?" the doctor answered as he pressed a few buttons on the medical console. Immediately, the robotic arm beside the bed moved to spray the medical cement all over Ecron's broken limb, "Though I think it'd be best that we consult the Galactic Council."

Ecron nodded in agreement as the robotic arm finished its job and retreated to its rest position. The Admiral placed the documents down and got up. The broken arm was going to be quite an inconvenience for him.

"How long will it take to heal?" Ecron asked as he walked towards the door.

"Another two or three regeneration sessions should do the trick," Alson answered as he cleaned up at the basin, "In the meantime, I'd advise against duelling with android spies."

"I'll take care of myself doc," Ecron laughed, "I'll let the security team deal with any android problem."

"And there's one more thing, Admiral," Alson added, "Please note that infiltrating spies will not be limited to the Taiidan Republic alone."

Ecron paused to consider Alson's words. It was indeed possible that the Mythra had more spies elsewhere, perhaps even in the Galactic Council. If that were the case, then rallying the Galaxy against the Mythra threat would prove more difficult to accomplish.

"I'll bear that in mind, doctor," he answered as he headed for the bridge.

* * *

**Onboard the _Veer Rak II_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

"Welcome aboard Admiral," Commander Faruun Naabal greeted, "It is indeed an honour to have you onboard the _Veer Rak II_."

"Dispense with the formalities," Ecron replied as he shook Faruun's hand warmly, "We need to leave for Tenhauser Station as quickly as possible."

"I understand the urgency of your mission sir," Faruun reassured, "Hyperdrive systems are already being powered up for the jump."

"Good, the sooner we get there, the better," Eefrit replied as he walked alongside the commander towards the bridge, "Please remember to keep your fleet on alert. There's no telling if the jump could be interrupted."

It was then that Eefrit's wrist communicator crackled to life. He took one look at the flashing device, and knew it was Yuno.

"Eefrit here, what's up Yuno?"

"Eefrit, I just received a distress signal from Tenhauser Station," Yuno spoke gravely, "Tenhauser Station is under attack by two Sphere fleets."

"What?!" Eefrit exclaimed in sheer surprise and shock, "Which Galactic powers are at the Station now?"

"The T-MAT Mothership _Tiamat_ and the Nalthoran flagship _Redemption_ are currently at the station," Yuno reported, "The Council defence fleet reports that they cannot hold off the Mythra long enough for the flagships to hyperspace."

"It must be the space time disruptions," Eefrit muttered, "Yuno, how many more combat-ready ships do we have in reserve?"

"Eight battlecruisers, twenty-three destroyers, and ninety frigates," Yuno responded, "The rest of the fleet is still undergoing repairs."

"Fine. I'll take Faruun's fleet along with three battlecruisers and twenty frigates," Eefrit commented as he hastened his footsteps, "Yuno, I'll leave Hiigara's defence in your hands."

"You can count on it. I'm programming the Grand Core to jump the required forces to Tenhauser. Please be careful!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure there're additional reinforcements coming in. Eefrit out."

Eefrit glanced apologetically at Commander Faruun, who was running beside him towards the bridge.

"Sorry to drag your fleet into such danger."

"That is no trouble. In fact, it will be an honour for my fleet to assist in the Council's defence," Faruun replied.

"Very well," Eefrit muttered, "I only hope we can get there in time to help."


	9. Facade

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 8: FAÇADE**

* * *

**Onboard the Vaygr Flagship _Scimitar_, high orbit over Roa III:**

Kiir Sjet walked cautiously across the hangar bay, trying his best to ignore the cold stares of the Vaygr security personnel scattered throughout the place. It had been particularly nerve-wracking to approach the Vaygr flagship in an unarmed gunship chassis. When the shuttle had touched down in the main hangar bay, Kiir had made sure to tune all his psychic defences to the maximum before leaving.

The Sjet'sa and his security retinue walked up to the main turbolift, whose doors were open and waiting. The doors quickly slid shut as soon as they were in, and the lift began to rise quickly.

"Stay calm Kiir," Soban muttered, "If they play any tricks, I'll make sure you get out of here alive."

"Thank you for the encouragement, but I seriously doubt if we could do that amidst such security," Kiir answered as he tried his best to remain calm.

"We managed to get Karan off Nalthora, so we can do this again," Soban reassured as the lift began to slow down.

The turbolift slowed to a halt and opened its doors, revealing a long stretch of corridor before them. Almost immediately, a pair of armed Vaygr guards came forward to escort them. The Hiigaran retinue continued on silently through the corridor, slowly but steadily approaching the end where a pair of heavy bulkhead doors waited.

One of the guards went forward and tapped a few buttons into the electronic lock while the other maintained a watchful eye over Kiir's group, which consisted of himself, Soban, and four other Hiigaran Marines.

The lock accepted the command with a sharp beep and the doors pulled apart slowly with a loud groan. What lay before them was the main bridge of the flagship. Security on the bridge seemed lax at first, then Kiir noticed that every officer had a medium ion rifle strapped to the thigh.

"Welcome to the _Scimitar_, Kiir Sjet," Vanaar greeted as he emerged from a smaller door at the left side of the bridge. He was now clothed in the military attire of the Vaygr Khar – a smart uniform emblazoned with dark colours and the Vaygr insignia imprinted in bold red on the right sleeve. Kiir quickly saw that Vanaar was much larger in person than on screen, his height and size making him a dominating presence on the bridge.

"Greetings Vaygr Khar," Kiir returned as he walked up to the Warlord, who was about half a head taller than himself. He grasped Vanaar's hand in a firm handshake and did his best to match the Warlord's grip. Kiir was grateful to have done some strength training despite his being a scientist, for it took every ounce of his own strength to keep his hand from getting crushed.

"Now that's the strongest handshake I've ever encountered from a researcher," Vanaar chuckled as he loosened his own grip on Kiir's hand, "Certainly you're not one to be trifled with in close combat either."

"Let's get to the point," Kiir spoke sharply as he withdrew his aching hand quickly, "State your terms."

"Why the hurry, Hiigara'sa?" Vanaar replied coolly as he waved his officers away, "It is certainly rare for me to encounter someone with similar abilities as myself."

"Is that a challenge?" Kiir asked carefully, glancing at Soban for advice.

"A short duel would be excellent in breaking the ice," Vanaar responded as he raised a hand at Kiir, who immediately felt oppressed by a tremendous invisible force. He gasped slightly and was pushed back a few steps.

Soban was alarmed and came forward to help, but found himself immobilised by an strong force as well. The other Marines were also helpless in Vanaar's telekinetic grip.

"Fight back, Kiir Sjet," Vanaar smiled, "I would like to see the true extent of a Hiigaran's power."

"Whatever," Kiir replied as he concentrated and halted the oppressive force of Vanaar's power. He pushed back against Vanaar, who was pleasantly surprised by the resistance Kiir was able to muster.

"Most interesting, no wonder you were able to deal with T-MAT boarders," Vanaar noted as he released his telekinetic grip on the Hiigarans. Soban and the Marines quickly rushed around Kiir, cocking their weapons at Vanaar. The Vaygr officers followed suit, aiming their rifles at the small Hiigaran group.

"Soban, stand down," Kiir muttered under his breath as the Vaygr Khar indicated the same with a slight wave of his hand.

"I guess are curious as to how I am able to wield Core-infused abilities," Vanaar commented as he walked towards the command station on the bridge and tapped a few buttons. Seconds later, the main viewscreen flickered to show a set of schematics and design plans. Kiir studied the plans for a few moments before realising what they were for.

"In the name of Sajuuk, your people have managed to reverse-engineer the Hyperspace Core?" Kiir asked in shocked surprise.

"Makaan would never have decided to take a gamble in Balcora otherwise," Vanaar answered calmly, "Of course, it still has many flaws that make it inferior to the original Core. However, it is definitely superior to your own reverse-engineered Far Jumper modules."

"How did you find out about the Far Jumper modules?" Kiir asked as Vanaar's words shocked him even further.

"Well, your ship's quantum waveform, while cleverly disguised as being a low power short jumper event by your sensor jammers, was using a quantum frequency present only in Far Jumpers," Vanaar explained, "The energy frequency alone is enough to tell us a lot about your ship's hyperdrive, which I regret to say is less advanced than our own Cores."

"Just what level of advancement are we talking about here?" Kiir asked, unwilling to admit that his technology was inferior, "_Eidolon_ can do ten million times light speed for ten hours."

"Our Core can sustain a jump for sixteen hours at the same speed," Vanaar smiled, "So please do not assume that we can be pushed around by your 'superior technology' just because you played a crucial part in winning the previous war."

Kiir fell silent, stung hard by Vanaar's words. All this while, Hiigaran Intelligence had referred to the Vaygr as being technologically-inferior in recent times and dependent on superior numbers to win their battles. To see the Vaygr using Progenitor technology so successfully was certainly a side of the Warriors he had not expected to see.

"I guess that plugging into that Core must have given you your abilities," Kiir muttered, "And I guess that Core of yours is capable of overwhelming any form of hyperspace inhibition that _Eidolon_ can achieve?"

"That is the case indeed," Vanaar answered, "I apologise for lying to you earlier."

"But even with all this technology, you still need our help somehow," Kiir begin to smile as the thought hit him, "I presume you've encountered the Mythra?"

"The Mythra are of secondary priority in this meeting," Vanaar quickly responded, "Our top priority is to establish proper diplomatic relations and a peace treaty."

"So what exactly are your terms?"

"Perhaps you misunderstand," Vanaar said as he walked up to Kiir once more, "All I want is an unconditional peace, possibly an alliance, between both our peoples."

"Now that really sounds too good to be true," Kiir commented sceptically, "Why should I believe you?"

Vanaar smiled and snapped his fingers. The next moment, Soban's communicator began beeping crazily.

"Soban here, what's the problem?" Soban answered the emergency call.

"Captain, sensors have picked up additional Vaygr ships emerging from behind Roa III," Eliir reported grimly, "They managed to evade detection through the combined use of a jamming field and the planet's shadow."

"Ship numbers?"

"Captain, we're talking about Crusade numbers here…" Eliir trailed off.

"No way!" Kiir exclaimed when he heard Eliir's report, "The Crusades were completely destroyed by the _Qwaar Jet_! There's no way you could've rebuilt them in five years!"

"You're wrong Kiir," Vanaar smirked, "The Seven Crusades you saw in Hiigaran orbit were merely a quarter of our total forces."

"A… quarter?" Kiir mumbled as he began crunching the numbers in his mind.

"The Vaygr are far stronger than you think, and common strategic sense states that it is never wise to send in the entire attack force, even if the circumstances show a probable landslide victory," Vanaar said as the main viewscreen showed a cloud of Vaygr ships rising from the planet's horizon, "And you see, if we didn't intend to make peace, your ship would not have survived long enough to approach my flagship."

"_Eidolon_ is no pushover," Kiir growled.

"But no matter how formidable that ship of yours is, can it stand up to the combined firepower of ALL the Vaygr Crusades?" Vanaar asked, smiling when he saw Kiir's defeated look.

Kiir understood immediately what he had to do. If his calculations were correct, then the net total of Vaygr forces would equal or possibly exceed the combined Alliance Fleet. In such a scenario, it would be far wiser to arrange for the Vaygr to join the Alliance rather than remain an enemy of the Alliance. The Vaygr forces would also prove to be excellent help in dealing with the Mythra.

"Well then Kiir, do we have a deal?" Vanaar asked, holding out a hand. Kiir looked straight into Vanaar's eyes, trying his best to see past the Vaygr fire in them. He thought he saw a glimpse of sincerity in those emotionless eyes and decided to comply, hoping it was the right thing to do.

"To the New Alliance," Kiir said as he shook Vanaar's hand firmly.

"Sorry to interrupt," Soban suddenly spoke, "But there's been a new development. We need to return to the _Eidolon_ immediately."

"Can't Eliir patch it directly through to us here?" Kiir asked as he released Vanaar's hand to face Soban.

"I'm afraid it's a sensitive issue," Soban muttered, "No offence Vaygr Khar, but I don't quite trust you yet."

"Perfectly understandable," Vanaar responded with surprising diplomatic grace, "I shall not keep you any longer than necessary."

Soban nodded slightly in thanks as he and the rest of the retinue escorted Kiir to the door.

* * *

"I hope you've got a good explanation for your rudeness just now," Kiir muttered angrily as he walked towards the hangar bay where their shuttle was waiting.

"Sorry Kiir, but Eliir just got a transmission from Yuno," Soban replied apologetically, "They received a distress signal from Tenhauser Station regarding an attack by two Sphere fleets."

"Certainly the Mythra have gotten a lot smarter since our last encounter," Kiir noted as he exited into the vast halls of the _Scimitar_'s hangar bay, "That they would immediately despatch an attack force to wipe out the Galactic Council itself is certainly a bold strategic move."

"However, something unexpected happened," Soban said grimly, "Yuno was jumping Eefrit's fleet to Tenhauser with the Grand Core when she detected a security breach."

"A security breach?" Kiir asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"The intruder slipped past the firewalls like they weren't even there," Soban continued, "Yuno tried to engage countermeasures but she was locked out by the hacker. It was only for a few seconds, but sufficient for the intruder to recalibrate the Grand Core."

"By the Gods," Kiir uttered as he boarded the shuttle quickly, "What of Eefrit and his fleet?"

Soban shrugged as he closed the airlock behind them, "They lost contact with Eefrit, but not before tracing the residual quantum waveform. If the trace proves accurate, Eefrit's taskforce should turn up somewhere in the Fields of Plaz."

"Then we must give chase immediately," Kiir said urgently, "It's most likely that the Mythra will do whatever they can to eliminate an isolated fleet like Eefrit's."

"But there's another complication," Soban muttered as he strapped himself in, "The intruder left behind a viral instruction in the Grand Core. The Core's now halting any and all hyperspace activity within a ten light year radius of Hiigara. All combat-capable ships except the _Kuun Lan II_ and the _Eheb San_ mining fleets are effectively trapped. The instruction's protected by a chaos code, so cracking it will take considerable time and processing power."

"Damn," Kiir swore as he felt the corvette lift off from the hangar bay floor, "Did they apprehend the intruder?"

"According to Yuno, the intruder was gone by the time the security officers reached the access point," Soban answered, "A search is underway at the moment for the culprit."

"The spy must be dealt with as soon as possible," Kiir uttered, "Inform the _Kuun Lan II_ and _Eheb San_ to locate and assist Eefrit's taskforce. In the meantime, we should head to Tenhauser Station and assist the Council fleet however we can."

"At once," Soban responded as he proceeded to give the orders to Eliir.

* * *

**Onboard the _Veer Rak II_, Fields of Plaz:**

"Quantum waveform dissipating," Faruun said as he studied the sensor readings, "We're in the Fields of Plaz."

"I can't believe our luck," Eefrit sighed, "There just had to be a hack in when we were jumping off."

"Sir, sensors picking up multiple contacts inbound," reported an officer, "Energy signatures indicate Mythra ships."

Faruun and Eefrit quickly looked at the sensors display, which had been transmitted to the main viewscreen. The enemy ships were moving quickly to intercept them from both flanks and the rear, and judging from their numbers it was likely that they were up against at least one whole Sphere fleet.

"_Veer Rak II_ to fleet – power up weapons and prepare for battle," Faruun ordered promptly as he walked to his command position. However, Eefrit remained where he was, studying the sensor information closely.

"Is that some ionic activity the sensors are picking up over there?" Eefrit asked as he pointed to a small patch of orange that was slowly growing in size.

"Yes Admiral, that's an ion storm developing in front of us," Faruun answered, "There's no other way out but vertical movement, which will be slower due to our current fleet orientation."

"Commander, take us through the ion storm," Eefrit ordered.

"Are you crazy?" Faruun exclaimed as he glanced at the developing storm before them, "Our ships can't survive ion storms of that magnitude!"

"We'd certainly survive longer there than against the Mythra," Eefrit snapped, "Order all ships to lock on to the storm's energy field and run a defensive charge through their hulls."

"That's not completely foolproof."

"It'll certainly reduce the number of ionic hits each ship'll take," Eefrit replied firmly.

Faruun nodded and barked the orders into the fleet channel. A dull vibration gripped the carrier as the main drives powered up, venting superheated plasma to propel the ship forward. All around the _Veer Rak II_, frigates and battlecruisers moved in formation away from the approaching Mythra ships and towards the developing storm.

The ion storm itself was an unpleasant sight. Faruun didn't know which was worse – staring down a swarm of technologically superior Mythra vessels, or a gathering swirl of crackling bolts of ionic energy.

As the _Veer Rak II_ entered the storm's magnetic field, the carrier's superstructure began to shudder in the shifting magnetic grip of the anomaly. Soban and Faruun decided to take their seats and strap in for the ride, as did the rest of the bridge crew.

"Mythra ships entering firing range," reported the sensors officer, "They are opening fire."

"Return fire but maintain speed," Faruun ordered, "How long before we enter the storm?"

"One minute."

"Sit tight everyone," Eefrit reminded, "This could be a rough ride."

Eefrit's reminder was actually an understatement. In fact, "rough ride" was hardly the way to describe plunging headfirst into a ferocious ion storm.

A few ion frigates became burning balls of plasma as the Mythra ships fired their weapons, their armour unable to withstand the sheer force of the ionic shock pulses. The attack went largely ignored save for a few retaliatory ion cannon shots from the retreating battlecruisers. The aqua ion beams were thinner but brighter due to a recent upgrade that allowed the ionic energy to be focused in a tighter beam. This allowed the ion beams to inflict much more damage on the armoured Mythra ships as compared with the feebler attempts five years ago.

Eefrit took a deep breath as he saw the ion storm come closer and closer.

"Five seconds to entry."

"Brace for impact," Faruun warned as the _Veer Rak II_ surged headfirst into the crackling swarm of pure energy.

The carrier's inertia dampers were completely overwhelmed, causing the ship to shake violently amidst the massive ionic currents. The streaks of charged ions arced all around the rest of the fleet, barely repelled from the ships by the comparatively weaker repulsion charge that was running through their metallic hulls.

Then Eefrit saw a particularly large bolt of cerulean energy crackle through the charged gases. It looked poised to hit the _Veer Rak II_ but swerved away at the last second. The torpedo frigate by the carrier's side was not so lucky – the deflected ion bolt surged through the hapless ship, making its hull glow more brightly than the rest of the nebula. Barely a second later, the frigate exploded from the overloading of its reactor.

"Damn, the storm's worse than I expected," Eefrit muttered, "Faruun, order your fleet to activate Quantum Distortion Algorithms immediately."

"But Admiral, you know our hyperdrives aren't powerful enough to project a complete distortion field," Faruun said, "And the ionic bolts are definitely beyond whatever predictive means we have at the moment."

"Perhaps you could try to predict the bolts by checking for any build in excess charge," Eefrit suggested.

"The time lapse between the charge build and the bolt manifestation is rather short, but we could try…" Faruun trailed off as he went about relaying the orders to the rest of the fleet.

That was the problem with the older-generation hyperspace modules. While Kiir's various algorithms allowed each Hiigaran vessel's hyperdrive to become a versatile tool, their limited power output meant that only a localised distortion could be generated to shield a particular part of the ship. But given that mass driver trajectories and ion beam firing paths could be calculated, it was possible to defend the ship against most hostile fire by moving the distortion around according to the incoming attacks.

However, the ion bolts in an ion storm were quite a different story. An ion bolt's path would change according to the differences in ionic charge of the particles around it, and since the nebula gas particles' charges kept changing according to the magnetic effects of the storm, the result was there was no way to predict an ion bolt's trajectory until the moment of impact. This largely unpredictable nature of the ion bolt meant that the predictive and defensive means of the Quantum Distortion Algorithm was practically defeated.

Another blue ion bolt pulsed through the nebula and slammed into the side of a battlecruiser. The residual charge arced all around the super capital ship's hull, leaving ugly gashes and patches of black wherever it touched the metal.

To Eefrit's surprise, the Mythra had actually _followed_ them into the ion storm, with the result of the ion storm taking its toll on their ships as well. The Mythra warships had deactivated their weapons, presumably to allocate more power to running defensive charges through their hulls.

Eefrit had second thoughts when a shower of ion bolts struck the _Veer Rak II_ directly, flinging the carrier violently to one side. Perhaps entering the ion storm was not such a good idea…

* * *

**Onboard the _Merciless II_, high orbit over Taiidan colony world Koshiir:**

"Admiral Ecron, we are receiving an incoming long range transmission," reported a bridge officer, "Unknown hailing frequency."

"Can you trace it?" Ecron asked as he sat down in the command chair.

"No way sir, it's a scattered signal, but aimed directly at us," the officer replied.

"Patch it through," Ecron ordered as he opened the channel, "This is Admiral Ecron of the New Taiidan Republic. Identify yourself."

"The New Taiidan Republic?" asked a voice curiously, "Not the Taiidan Empire?"

Ecron hesitated for a while, remembering that the First Taiidan Republic had lasted only a short time before collapsing and fracturing into fragments of Imperialist factions, which later came together to become a new Imperial power that had remained until just five years ago. Would this time be any different?

"This… this is indeed the New Taiidan Republic," Ecron confirmed, "The old Empire is no more."

"Most intriguing indeed…" the voice replied as it seemed to consider this new development.

"Now that we have identified ourselves, would you care to do the same?" Ecron asked cautiously.

"This is the Frerrn Aggregate," the voice answered almost immediately, "We have decided to re-establish diplomatic contact with the Galaxy in the light of recent circumstances."

"The Frerrn Aggregate?!" Ecron exclaimed.

The Frerrn Aggregate was one of the old Galactic powers that had existed since the First Time. After a short hostile encounter with the old Taiidan and Hiigaran empires, the Aggregate had decided to take a neutral stance in Galactic matters so as to safeguard its own interests. However, as time went on, even neutrality could not protect it from the brewing crises. With the vanquishing of the Hiigarans, the Taiidan Empire grew vastly in power, becoming decadent and corrupt in the process. Eventually, the Frerrn Aggregate and the Taiidan Empire became locked in a violent tussle over various border issues on the Far Rim.

The Frerrn Aggregate's ships were the third-most advanced during that time in the Galaxy, with the T-MAT and Bentusi leading in the circles of space technology. However, their vessels were very much smaller in number as compared with the vast fleets of the Taiidan. As a result, the Aggregate were defeated in the border skirmish with the loss of nearly their entire navy. The Aggregate would thus have fallen easily if the Taiidan had decided to invade immediately after the border conflict. But luck was on their side – the Taiidan Empire's attention was turned to the returning Exile Fleet, which seemed to defy any and all Imperial attempts to finish the Genocide.

A hasty discussion in the government of the Frerrn Aggregate ended with the decision to cut off all diplomatic contact with the Galaxy. This was to allow the Aggregate much-needed time to recover both economically and militarily from the border skirmish. The Aggregate also withdrew from the Galactic Council, but not before voting in favour of the Exiles' claim to their homeworld of Hiigara.

And so the Frerrn Aggregate faded into relative obscurity due to the following civil war within the Taiidan Republic and the onslaught of the Beast. By the time of the Vaygr invasion, the Frerrn Aggregate had been completely forgotten by the rest of the Galaxy.

Never had Ecron expected them to suddenly reappear on the Galactic scene.

"This is very surprising," Ecron muttered as he got over the initial surprise, "Perhaps it'd be best that we meet up somewhere to re-establish proper diplomatic relations. I will require some time to make the arrangements…"

"That will not be necessary Sir Ecron," the voice replied, "We are already here."

"What the…" Ecron uttered as the bridge klaxons began to wail.

"Admiral! Sensors are picking up multiple unidentified ships decloaking in front of us!" cried an officer.

"Is there anything wrong with our proximity network?" Ecron asked angrily, embarrassed that the Frerrn Aggregate could have come so close without them noticing.

"Nothing wrong sir, it's just that their cloaking fields are completely undetectable," the officer responded, "Sensors are also picking up some sort of energy shielding around their ships!"

"Shields?!" Ecron exclaimed as he saw the Aggregate ships appear before him for the first time.

The vessels of the Frerrn Aggregate were completely unlike any other ship design Ecron had seen thus far. The Aggregate frigates resembled giant weapon-filled delta wings with a fusion drive attached to the rear, while their super capital vessels were rounded hulks slightly reminiscent of the old Hiigaran Imperator class carrier, but with additional delta wings arranged in horizontal and vertical positions around the main hull.

The largest vessel in sight appeared to be a triangular-shaped mothership class vessel with a massive rounded secondary hull running down the length of the triangular structure's centre. It was not nearly as wide as the _Merciless II_, but at least twice the length and height of the Taiidan flagship. The vessel also seemed heavily armed for a mothership class vessel, with massive but sleek turrets lining both of its flanks.

Ecron could see easily with a glance that the Frerrn Aggregate had advanced considerably since the Homeworld War.

The question now was why they had suddenly decided to come out of diplomatic seclusion.


	10. War

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 9: WAR**

* * *

The disc-shaped metallic structure remained motionless in space, its smooth hull glinting in the magnificent light of the Galactic Core. Various viewports peeked out into space, making the station sparkle like a small map of stars.

All across the facility, small sections of hull began to open, sliding away amidst the brilliant light of the Galaxy. From the darkness emerged sleek turrets – marvels of space engineering. Slowly but surely, they turned to face the infinite depth of space and beyond.

Then huge shards of depleted uranium issued forth from the turrets, dashing through space with blinding speed to impact the shining hulls of the Mythra vessels. Most were deflected harmlessly away, but some managed to penetrate the tough outer armour, leaving pockmarks of warped metal all around the target vessel.

Tenhauser Station was the heart of the newly re-established Galactic Council. It was here where various representatives of the Galactic civilisations met in peaceful discussions for the past five years. Because of the importance of its contents, the station was considerably armed and armoured. Equipped with an impressive array of heavy mass driver turrets, fusion missile launchers and ion cannons, Tenhauser Station could easily hold its own against an armada of ships.

But for an enemy to move within weapons range of the station was a definite sign of trouble.

Fusion missiles and ion beams lashed out at the approaching swarm of Mythra warships, which continued on without interruption. Behind the Mythra fleet lay the tattered remnants of what was once the station's defence fleet. Comprising of vessels from nearly every Galactic civilisation, the ruined fleet continued to snap at the flanks and rear of the Ancients. If the defence fleet's firepower was indeed having any effect on the Mythra, then it was clearly not showing.

The Mythra opened fire with their ionic shock weapons, sending pulses of pure energy hurtling towards the besieged station. The energy bolts slammed into nothingness and exploded, causing the affected portion of the station's shield to flare up briefly.

That shield was the result of reverse engineering ruined Progenitor vessels, and it was all that stood between the station and the awesome might of the Mythra. Despite the uncanny durability granted by the Progenitors' genius design, the shield's power drained rapidly under the onslaught of Mythra firepower.

Behind the station, the T-MAT mothership _Tiamat_ and its Nalthoran equivalent_ Redemption_ continued to move slowly away on conventional drives, as if that little extra distance could save them from enemy attack. With their hyperspace capabilities wrenched away by Mythra inhibitors, there was no way to escape.

And then a ship blinked into view, decelerating rapidly from the faster-than-light speeds it had been travelling at. Seconds later, two other vessels dropped to normal speeds behind the first vessel. The small taskforce gathered itself majestically in space and soared towards their besieged allies.

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_, Tenhauser sector:**

"Hyperspeed disengaged, all systems nominal," Sora mentioned as he steered the dreadnaught towards the station.

"_Horizon_ and _Tachyon_ have disengaged FTL and are forming up on our flanks," Eliir reported calmly.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Soban muttered, "This attack goes against one of the most important rules in military doctrine."

"Which is?" Kiir asked nonchalantly.

"The one that talks about overwhelming force," Soban answered.

"Well, with most of the Navy locked up around Hiigara and an inhibitor field around Tenhauser, this is all we can send," Kiir replied, "Besides, we have with us three ships from the Horizon class, the Horizon II class, and the Qwaar Jet Cor class. Things aren't that bad."

"Not when you're up against TWO Sphere fleets!" Soban exclaimed, "This is suicide!"

"As far as I know you sent the _Gatekeeper _against the entire Kadesh fleet without much hesitation," Kiir responded.

"That's because we were fighting for survival! It's a completely different context!" Soban retorted.

"Captain, several cruisers and destroyers are breaking away from the main formation," Eliir interrupted, "They're headed right at us."

"Power up all shields and have _Horizon_ and _Tachyon_ do the same," Soban ordered, "Aalcor, take out the cruisers first and then the destroyers."

"Affirmative," replied the Manaan officer as he calmly went about programming the firing routines.

"We need to take out the Spheres ASAP, or at least try to bring down those inhibitors," Kiir added.

And then the bridge vibrated slightly as the Mythra ships opened fire, their shots crackling and spewing all over the _Eidolon_'s primary distortion field. The _Eidolon_ responded with a salvo of heavy fusion torpedoes, followed by a series of turbopulsar and ion cannon shots. The accompanying _Horizon_ and _Tachyon_ joined in with their own ion cannons, pulse cannons and distortion cannons.

Two of the cruisers crumpled under the assault while another destroyer had its main drives blown apart, but the remaining two cruisers and four destroyers continued with their attack as if the retaliation had never taken place.

"Primary shields down to ninety-seven percent," Aalcor updated as he fired another round of turbopulsars at the attacking Mythra warships.

"_Horizon_ and _Tachyon_ reporting minor drain to shields," Eliir added.

"We shouldn't be wasting time on these minions," Soban muttered, "Sora, take us to the Mythra Spheres. Eliir, tell _Horizon_ and _Tachyon _to follow."

The taskforce fired once more at the attackers before flashing beyond light speed and decelerating right in the heart of the attacking fleet. The massive Sphere loomed before them and started firing in defence. Heavy ionic shock cannons unloaded upon the _Eidolon_'s shields, which held stubbornly under the assault.

Sora gripped the controls and quickly steered the _Eidolon_ away from the Sphere's firing arc while Aalcor fired every one of the _Eidolon_'s weapons. The _Horizon_ and _Tachyon_ followed suit, swerving around the curvature of the Sphere's hull and strafing the Sphere at the same time. Explosions began tearing through the exterior hull as the armour buckled and tore under the attack of the advanced warships.

"Sir, sensor scans indicate that the source of the inhibitor field is located deep within the cores of both Spheres," Eliir reported, "We can't kill the inhibitors unless we destroy the Spheres."

"What next Kiir?" Soban asked, "There's no way we can save _Tiamat_ and _Redemption_ if that's the case."

"Perhaps we can try to project a countering quantum wavefield to nullify the effect long enough for them to escape," Kiir suggested.

"Sounds good," Soban acknowledged as he switched the intercom on, "Engineering, do you read?"

"Idus here, receiving you loud and clear," came the reply of the _Eidolon_'s chief engineer.

"Eliir is transmitting data on the inhibitor field to you right now," Soban spoke, "We need you to reconfigure the Far Jumper module to project a nullifying field. Is it possible?"

"It can be done, but we will have to disable inertialess drive mode to obtain enough power," Idus warned, "That also means that hyperspeed will not be possible during the projection of the nullifying field."

"Got that Sora?" Soban asked his helm officer, who noted the information with a nod, "Just go ahead with the recalibration, Idus."

"At once, captain," Idus confirmed as he cut the communication.

"Better take us to the motherships first before we lose hyperspeed capability," Kiir reminded. Sora responded by immediately turning the _Eidolon_ around, and micro jumping them to the fleeing T-MAT and Nalthoran motherships behind the station. Within moments, the _Horizon_ and _Tachyon_ followed suit, dropping to cruise speed alongside the dreadnaught.

A warning beep sounded from Sora's console, indicating that the Hyperphase Drive was offline and that the _Eidolon_ was now moving on standard fusion drive.

"Captain, _Horizon_ and _Tachyon_ both report that they have disabled Hyperphase Drives and are standing by to commence projection of the nullifying field," Eliir updated, "But we'll need to be quick – one of the Sphere fleets is breaking off the attack on Tenhauser Station and is closing on our position."

"Got it, open communications with the _Tiamat_ and _Redemption_," Soban ordered as he opened a channel, "Attention T-MAT and Nalthoran motherships! This is the Hiigaran dreadnaught _Eidolon_. We are attempting to nullify the inhibitor field with our hyperdrives. Jump when you can."

"A dreadnaught class vessel?" asked the voice of a Nalthoran commander, "So the rumours were true! The Hiigarans are indeed…"

_"Silence, flicker life,_" the T-MAT interrupted, _"Do you not see how the Hiigarans are using their dreadnaught? Judge them on their actions, not empty words carried on the interstellar winds."_

Kiir mumbled a silent thanks for the T-MAT, grateful that he had the backing of the most technologically advanced civilisation in the Galaxy.

The bridge vibrated once more as the rear shields were assaulted by the Mythra forces. Sora wasted no time turning the ship around to enable Aalcor to bring more weapons to bear, but the _Eidolon_ now steered sluggishly and clumsily on its manoeuvring thrusters. The lack of the Hyperphase Drive was certainly a tactical impairment.

"Picking up an energy spike! One of the Spheres is preparing to fire its main cannon!" Eliir cried as alarms started going off throughout the ship.

"All hands brace for impact!" Soban managed to yell before the Sphere fired its main ionic shock cannon, sending the crimson bolt of energy shooting towards the _Eidolon_ and its taskforce.

The main viewscreen went blindingly red as the bolt detonated and released its dangerous payload of energy and shockwaves. Even the _Eidolon_'s inertia dampers were overwhelmed, causing the bridge to drop by a whole metre. Soban prayed silently as he heard the loud groans of the ship's superstructure being stressed beyond their normal limits.

It was a few more seconds before the dreadnaught managed to stabilise itself amidst the dissipating shockwave and plasma. Looking around, Soban was relieved to find that the bridge had suffered no internal damage.

"Damage report," he managed to mutter.

"Primary shields down to forty-two percent," Aalcor calmly reported, completely unshaken by the blast, "Secondary shields down to eighty-nine percent along with minor stress damage to the outer hull."

"What of the rest of the taskforce?" Soban asked, hoping for the best.

"_Horizon_ has lost all shields and taken substantial hull and internal damage," Eliir replied in dismay, "_Tachyon_ fared slightly better – they still have minimal shield cover and moderate hull damage."

"They must have improved their main weapons in some way since our last encounter," Kiir noted, "Those distortion fields were upgraded to withstand a blast even at point blank range."

"I guess it wasn't enough after all," Soban concluded, "Aalcor, return fire. Eliir, get _Horizon_ and _Tachyon_ to do the same if they still…"

"Alert! The second Sphere has locked onto us!" Eliir exclaimed in horror, "Energy spike detected!"

"Sora, full evasive!" Soban hollered as he gripped his chair's armrest tightly.

A dull roar echoed through the dreadnaught as its fusion drives flared to maximum thrust, pushing the ship away from the coming danger. Soban saw the main viewscreen fill with a bright crimson light and closed his eyes…

The crimson light was replaced by the vermillion flare of pure plasma spewing outwards from the point of detonation. _Eidolon_'s hull groaned in protest as it tried to get out of the way, the roar of its main drive slightly audible on the bridge. And then the ship shook as a few tendrils of the plasma leapt forth and grazed across the flickering distortion field. Had they decided to remain where they were, it was possible that both shields would have collapsed under the full force of the main explosion, exposing the dreadnaught and its crew to tremendous danger.

Unfortunately, while _Tachyon_ managed to swerve away from the regions of maximum damage, _Horizon_ took the full force of a plasma wave amidships. What remained of its distortion fields, still recovering from the initial Sphere assault, collapsed and flickered away into nothingness. The battlecruiser's fusion drives died and the ship ceased to accelerate, drifting dead in space. Everyone watched the horror unfold on a corner of the main viewscreen, seeing streams of plasma tearing viciously into the ship's armour, exposing various sections of the outer and inner hulls to the vacuum of space. The viewports of the doomed battlecruiser flared brightly as a firestorm blazed through the pressurised oxygen-rich interior.

And then everything went dark, leaving behind a blackened and lifeless hull.

"Primary shields are down, secondary shields at sixty-six percent," Aalcor reported, his calmness wavering slightly after witnessing the tragedy.

"Eliir, status of the _Horizon_?" Soban asked slowly, even though he knew the answer.

"… All systems offline, no life signs detected," Eliir replied, her voice cracking with emotion.

Soban clenched his teeth angrily and swore silently under his breath. He turned to look at Kiir, who had raised his hand to his face, trying to hide the anguish of watching and feeling the loss of so many lives.

Through the thin veil of the rapidly dissipating plasma, Soban saw the _Tiamat_ and _Redemption_ escape to hyperspace. No sooner had they vanished from view did Sora's console start beeping again, indicating that the nullifying field had been disabled and that the Hyperphase Drive was operational once more.

"Get us out of here," Soban uttered to Sora, who responded with a solemn nod.

The _Eidolon_ and _Tachyon_ both gathered themselves painfully in space, the Mythra spacecraft still snapping at their flanks and dealing damage to the ships' shields. And then both Hiigaran warships flashed to hyperspeed, dashing away from their Mythra attackers.

As the trail of space time distortion faded in the wakes of the ships' jumps, Tenhauser Station's shield flared one last time before collapsing completely. Barrages of energy punched into the station's hull, ripping all the way into the interior to detonate the primary fusion core.

And the Tenhauser sector was lit up by the dying light of the station.

* * *

**Onboard the _Merciless II_, high orbit over Taiidan colony world Koshiir:**

Admiral Ecron watched nervously as the sleek ships of the Frerrn Aggregate approached them slowly. While the Frerrn fleet was relatively small, it was quite evident that they had a technological edge over his own forces. The fact that they were protected by energy shields was proof enough of this point.

"Rest assured, we mean you no harm," the voice stated calmly, "Perhaps a personal visit would be more convincing?"

"Wait, I don't even know who you are!" Ecron quickly answered, his mind working overtime to deal with this first contact.

"Oh, pardon my rudeness, it must have slipped my mind," the voice noted apologetically, "I am Prime Minister Talos, and I seek your permission for a diplomatic meeting. If you are agreeable, I shall be over in the ambassadorial shuttle."

"Well, I guess we have an agreement then," Ecron replied, "I will prepare the necessary entrance permits…"

"Sir! Space time distortion detected," the sensors officer reported with alarm, "Energy readings indicate a Sphere fleet jumping in on our left flank!"

"Those Mythra are all over the place now…" Ecron muttered, "Minister Talos, I'm afraid we'll have to continue this conversation later."

"I agree, Admiral," Talos responded, "We will provide whatever assistance we possibly can."

"I think it'd be best that your ships keep out of the main battle," Ecron warned, "What we're going up against is…"

And then the bridge shook as the dimensional shockwaves buffeted the Taiidan Elite Guard fleet. The Mythra's sudden arrival was certainly worrying, especially with the bulk of Taiidan Republic reinforcements still en route to the Koshiir system. All that they had here was a standard mothership fleet.

"Damage report," Ecron managed to say as the flagship's gyros regained control.

"The shockwaves have lost us our connection with the Frerrn Aggregate flagship," came the reply, "However we still have fleet-wide communications."

"Trans-dimensional aperture is opening beside us," warned the sensors officer.

Admiral Ecron saw the fabric of space time shimmer and bend, giving way to reveal a massive puncture in realspace itself. The aperture stabilised itself into a radial portal before spitting out a rapidly decelerating Sphere mothership. As the dimensional aperture began to shrink and close, the Sphere's hull opened in many places to launch the fleet from within its metallic confines.

"All ships prepare for battle," Ecron commanded as he saw the Mythra fleet organise itself before them. In response, the Taiidan Republic capital ships began manoeuvring themselves away from the Frerrn Aggregate fleet to face the Mythra aggressors.

To his surprise, the Frerrn forces began launching their own strike craft towards the approaching Mythra ships. The sleek capital ships also started turning so as to present a second front to the Mythra assault.

"Attention Admiral Ecron, this is General Xiedo of the Frerrn Aggregate," the communications console suddenly crackled to life, "Order your ships to steer clear of the main battle immediately!"

"General Xiedo, I'm afraid I cannot comply," Ecron answered firmly, "You must pull back immediately. These Mythra ships are not what you…"

And Ecron's voice trailed off as he saw the Frerrn capital ships leap forward with superior speed, firing missiles that surged forward at tremendous velocities. Then the capital ships quickly swerved away, leaving their missiles to meet the first wave of Mythra warships.

The next minute, the first wave of attackers was replaced by a series of blinding explosions. So much energy was given off that even the _Merciless II_ shook slightly from the shockwaves. Whatever those missiles were, their payloads clearly put current fusion missiles to shame.

As the explosions dimmed, Ecron was shocked to see an entire flank of Mythra frigates _vaporised_ by a single salvo of those missiles. The other surviving ships in that flank were of destroyer and heavy cruiser classes, but even they had taken moderate to heavy damage from the blasts.

"What in Sajuuk's name was that?" Ecron managed to ask after a few moments of sheer shock and awe.

"Antimatter missiles, Admiral," the general explained, "Very impressive destructive potential, but because they can't be built by standard PDAs, each ship thus carries a limited stock of these missiles."

"Antimatter missiles?" Ecron exclaimed in amazement. He had learned about the potential uses of antimatter as weapons, which would be one of the most efficient means of blowing stuff up. But with antimatter production technology still very much in its infancy, practical use of antimatter was dismissed as something possible only in the far future.

Ecron watched the Frerrn capital ships fire off another salvo of the lethal missiles, which tracked the enemy with tremendous ease. Seconds later, another series of explosions lit up the battlefield, reducing another flank of Mythra warships to dust.

But the Mythra were not content to stay and watch their ships dying to the wrath of those missiles. A counterattack was quickly organised, and ionic shock bolts were flung at the attacking Frerrn capital vessels. The frigates were agile enough to dodge most of the shots, but not the heavier destroyer and battlecruiser class warships.

Crimson and vermillion bolts of energy were halted by the capital ships' protective energy shields, which glowed a soft blue with each impact. Unlike the close hull-wrapping fields of Progenitor vessels, the Frerrn warships projected their shields in a flattened sphere that wrapped around the protected ship. This meant that any shockwaves from weapon impacts on the shields would be substantially dissipated before they reached the hull, minimising hull stress damage from catastrophic weapon hits.

Now the Frerrn capital ships were forced to use their main arsenal to retaliate as the Mythra continued to fire at them. Turrets swivelled around and released barrages of plasma bombs, showering the pursuing Mythra warships in a bid to shake them off. At this juncture, the Taiidan forces swept in and fired upon the pursuers, scoring dozens of hits on their targets which were more keen on destroying the Frerrn rather than to evade hostile fire.

Suddenly, the Frerrn mothership's hull opened in various sections, revealing rows of missile launchers. Moments later, dozens of antimatter missiles fired away from their hatches and swarmed towards the Sphere itself, now exposed due to the hole opened up in its fleet by the initial attacks. Ecron counted at least thirty of the missiles dashing towards their massive target.

The Sphere's point defence systems opened up in an attempt to shoot down the missiles at long range. The result was a sequence of dazzling antimatter explosions along the missiles' firing trajectories as they were prematurely detonated. Still, several missiles managed to evade the point defences by virtue of their hypervelocity engines, slamming into the armoured hull of the Sphere.

Waves of pure energy and plasma bloomed on the surface of the Sphere, each caused by the successful hit of an antimatter missile. Ecron let loose a war cry at the success of the Frerrn missile attack, but the victory was short-lived.

"Sir, sensors are picking up an energy spike! The Sphere is preparing to fire its main cannon!" an officer yelled.

And then the Taiidan flagship was flung backwards violently, the hull screaming under the stress of the buffeting shockwaves.

But that was thankfully a parting shot from the Mythra, an attempt at distracting the Taiidan and Frerrn forces so that the damaged Sphere could turn and escape on its Timespace Drive.

The surviving Mythra forces were quickly mopped up jointly by the Frerrn and Taiidan ships. Both fleets had taken only moderate damage due to the cannon shot's being a low power one. Apparently the Sphere had been damaged to the extent of it becoming unable to use a full power blast.

A few more explosions occurred in the battlefield as the survivors put up a fierce resistance, but Ecron paid them no heed. What he was more interested in now was the secret behind the Frerrn Aggregate's superior technology, which was shockingly comparable to the T-MAT and even the Progenitors.

He saw the small shuttle launch from the mothership on the main viewscreen. Taking a deep breath, Ecron headed for the hangar bay to meet the Prime Minister.

* * *

_The Mythra assessed the results of their war, and were satisfied. While there had been an unfortunate setback in the attack on the Taiidan Republic, victory had been attained at the heart of the Galactic Council._

_With the fall of Tenhauser Station, it was hoped that the Galactic races would be shaken and demoralised badly. This would pave the way for success, which had eluded them some time before in their initial engagements._

_Losses were irrelevant to them. After all, they were merely the Servants. All they needed was to establish a military foothold in this Galaxy, paving the way for their Masters._

_This Galaxy would fall soon enough._


	11. Myth and Reality

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 10: MYTH AND REALITY**

* * *

A massive bolt of ionic energy streaked through the charged gases, connecting with a Mythra destroyer. Stray charge arced all around the automaton's hull, dissipating only when the heart and soul of the ship was completely and utterly burned out.

As the ion storm worsened, the same scene repeated itself throughout the pursuing fleet. Dozens of warships suffered complete annihilation of their internal circuitry, the deadly ions reducing them to nothing more than derelict hulks of metal drifting aimlessly in the nebulous graveyard.

The Mythra seemed to harbour second thoughts at this critical moment. Realising that they had unwittingly entered a death trap, the command vessels' innate intelligence quickly decided on a course of action. What remained of the fleet came to a halt as the order to retreat went out.

* * *

**Onboard the _Veer Rak II_, Fields of Plaz:**

The bridge was now enveloped the dim red of the emergency lighting. Clouds of smoke issued from numerous consoles that had exploded from circuit overloads. The few bridge officers who were still generally uninjured continued to work at the surviving consoles, checking system damage and maintaining the necessary safeguards.

Outside, the situation was far worse. What had once been a proud Hiigaran taskforce had now been reduced to a badly-damaged carrier with an equally tattered escort. Only one battlecruisers and a handful of frigates had managed to survive the onslaught of the ion storm.

Eefrit winced as a medic bandaged a nasty burn on his right arm. He had been standing next to the sensor station when it exploded from an ionic overload. Any closer, and he would have suffered the same fate as the unfortunate sensors officer, who was now fighting for his life in the infirmary.

Commander Faruun had also not escaped unscathed, which was why the bridge now lacked his presence. He too was now receiving treatment for severe burns caused by another circuit overload.

"Sir, sensors are picking up what seems to be a drastic energy spike," warned one of the replacement officers.

"Confirm its source," Eefrit ordered as the medic finished with the bandage.

"I'm afraid there's been too much damage to sensors," came the reply, "We cannot trace the spike."

"Helm, is it possible to make a hyperspace jump at this juncture?" Eefrit asked as he walked up towards the still-surviving helm station.

"Navigational systems are completely offline. We could jump, but we'd be jumping blind," explained the haggard Hiigaran.

"Any place is better than here," Eefrit muttered, "_Veer Rak II_ to fleet – engage hyperdrives get out of the ion storm. We'll rendezvous later. That is all."

Eefrit closed the channel and sank into a nearby chair, closing his eyes for a moment's rest. He heard the steady computerised beep of the countdown timer as the carrier prepared to make a blind jump.

"Initiating hyperspace," the helm officer reported as the carrier's hyperspace module kicked in, engulfing the super capital ship with an aqua door of quantum energy.

Chaos followed.

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_, the Shining Hinterlands:**

_"Once again, we thank you for your assistance in the crisis that is now past,"_ the T-MAT spoke, _"However it is regrettable that Tenhauser Station has been lost."_

"The station's loss was inevitable. I never expected the Mythra to reappear with such force and numbers," Kiir replied sadly.

_"An invasion on such a scale was only a matter of time,_" answered the T-MAT, _"What we must do now is mobilise our forces for a counteroffensive, even if we lack the means…"_

"We have the means now, it's just a matter of whether the rest of the Alliance is willing to accept it," Kiir revealed cautiously, "I have found a new ally recently, and that ally would prove an invaluable help in this war."

_"And that ally is?"_

"The Warriors of the Fringe," Kiir answered without hesitation.

"Madness! Utter madness!" cried the Nalthoran commander, "Have you completely forgotten how they came at us and everything else within the Inner Rim? How they slaughtered countless innocents without remorse…"

"There is no other way we'll win this," Kiir sighed, "Besides, the Vaygr of today are different. They are now more than willing to bury the hatchet…"

_"But why do they choose to ally only now?"_ asked the T-MAT, _"Granted, they may indeed be sincere with their offer of an alliance, but there still remains a possibility that they have other intents."_

"I have good reason to believe their words now, and that is because they too have encountered the Mythra," Kiir replied, "I do not think that they'd be foolish enough to pit themselves against the Alliance in the face of a greater threat."

_"But still, it is not easy to erase in one moment the many crimes they have committed,"_ the T-MAT commented, _"We will relay the news to the rest of the Alliance, but be reminded that acceptance will take time."_

"Of course, but it had better come quickly," Kiir responded as the communication ended.

He watched the massive _Tiamat_ lumber slowly towards the gathered T-MAT fleet. They had foolishly believed the Tenhauser defence fleet to be sufficient protection for their mothership, with nearly fatal results. Now it was likely for the bulk of the T-MAT forces to follow the _Tiamat_ wherever it went, however inconvenient that might be.

_Redemption_ too moved towards the arrayed formations of the Nalthoran Navy, whose forces had increased considerably since five years ago. Though their homeworld no longer existed, it had not stopped them from rebuilding their civilisation painfully from scratch. The Nalthoran kingdom showed what a united people could do, establishing seven space-based colonies in that short span of five years and even swelling their navy to twice the number that had defended Nalthora.

The T-MAT had also bounced back from the devastation of their fleet in the first Mythra encounter. That they were already a space-faring race with no homeworld helped matters when the Neo-Beast launched a galaxy-wide attack on every civilisation's home planet. Combined with their superior technology, the T-MAT managed to return to their former glory in little time.

But now, it looked like they could lose it all once more, and this time there would be no chance to rebuild.

"Are we heading home?" Soban asked, breaking the silence that had prevailed for the past minute, "Hiigara's still facing a crisis you know."

"I'm rather worried about Eefrit's taskforce," Kiir sighed, "There's been no word from the _Kuun Lan II_ and _Eheb San_ on him so far, is that right?"

"I'm afraid so," Eliir replied solemnly, "Last update was a few minutes ago – _Kuun Lan II_ and _Eheb San_ were halted by an inhibitor field. They are attempting to make a detour to enter the Fields…"

"A detour would take too much time," Kiir muttered, "I doubt there'd be anything left of the taskforce by then."

"What would you have us do?" Soban asked in exasperation, "Our hands are completely tied now."

"We could take the _Eidolon_ to the Fields instead," Taruur suggested, "We've taken only minimal damage."

"Of course, but still, we've got the Grand Core to worry about…" Kiir reminded, closing his eyes to think about their options.

"_A rare sight indeed – the Hiigarans at a loss?"_ a voice spoke suddenly into Kiir's mind, alarming him.

"Hyperspace signatures detected," Eliir reported, "A Vaygr fleet is jumping in."

All eyes turned to the main viewscreen as numerous quantum wavefronts opened up before the _Eidolon_, sliding back to reveal the _Scimitar_ and its escort. As the jump windows closed, the gathered T-MAT and Nalthoran fleets seemed to look on in stunned silence.

And then the chaos began.

"There's been a sudden spike in fleet communications," Eliir spoke suddenly, "The T-MAT and Nalthoran fleets are powering up weapons!"

"Open an allied channel immediately!" Kiir exclaimed as he rushed to avert a would-be war between the Alliance and the Vaygr, "Attention T-MAT and Nalthoran fleets! Stand down at once! The Vaygr are here as allies!"

"Sir, the T-MAT are taking no further action other than moving into battle formations," Eliir updated, "But the Nalthorans are ignoring our communications and moving to intercept the Vaygr fleet!"

"Sora, put us between the Nalthorans and the Vaygr," Soban quickly ordered in anticipation of what Kiir would do next, "Maximum inertialess."

Sora nodded and the _Eidolon_ leapt forward, accelerating from zero to corvette speeds in a few seconds. The dreadnaught surged towards the would-be battlefield with its superior velocity, posing a formidable barrier to the Nalthoran forces.

"Incoming transmission from the Nalthoran fleet," Eliir informed.

"Out of the way, Hiigarans," the Nalthoran commander spoke, "The Vaygr cannot be forgiven for their crimes against us."

"Calm down commander," Kiir spoke quickly, "If we do not stand united against the Mythra…"

"They came and _burned_ our Outer Rim colonies without hesitation or remorse," the commander replied angrily, his voice shaking with rage, "Countless innocents lost their lives in that attack! We will not be stopped!"

"No! Please listen…"

"Communication ended," Eliir announced, "Nalthoran fleet is continuing on original course."

"Damn it!" Kiir swore as he slammed his hand loudly on the offending communications console, "Full power to sensor jamming systems - we've to stop them from locking on!"

And then a bright lance of light pierced through the abyssal depths of space as the _Scimitar_ fired its main phased cannon array. The beam of energy was soon joined by other smaller blazes of light emanating from the battlecruisers' phased energy cannons. The brilliant display of firepower seemed to have an effect on the Nalthorans, who brought their ships to an immediate halt.

"_A display of capabilities never fails to intimidate,"_ Vanaar chuckled into Kiir's mind, _"Perhaps a proper diplomatic meeting with the Alliance's delegates would clear up these misunderstandings."_

"_Not with the Nalthorans' current mood," _Kiir mentally objected, _"The Alliance still needs more time to accept this."_

"_Perhaps so,"_ Vanaar agreed, _"But I certainly do not wish to keep firing off weapons to prove our point."_

"_I know, I will try to make the necessary arrangements as soon as it is possible to do so,"_ Kiir reassured, _"Now if you don't mind, I'm not used to answering voices in my head."_

Apologetic emotions manifested themselves momentarily before Kiir felt the mental connection break. His attention snapped back to the bridge of the _Eidolon_, only to find Soban and every other officer looking worriedly at him.

"You okay there?" Soban asked carefully, "You looked like you were in a world of your own just now."

Kiir raised his right hand and nodded slightly to reassure his concerned colleagues. He turned his eyes to the main viewscreen and gazed at the standoff between the Nalthoran and Vaygr fleets.

* * *

**Onboard the _Koshiir Ra_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

"Any luck on breaking the code?"

"I need more time," Yuno replied to the technician as she called up every cracking program she had at her disposal.

A good few hours had passed since the intrusion and the Grand Core remained under control of a tremendous foreign force. Every effort to crack the protecting chaos code had ended in failure, with every possible loophole seemingly covered by the code.

Meanwhile, nearly all space activity around Hiigara had come to a halt. Merchant vessels were left stranded in the void, their abilities to hyperspace cruelly robbed from them by the Grand Core's inhibitor field. The bulk of the Hiigaran navy could only drift helplessly in Hiigaran orbit, trapped and contained completely by the Grand Core. Even hyperspatial communications were greatly affected, for the inhibitor field disabled all but the most high-powered transmission arrays.

Tactically, this was a perilous situation. Should the Mythra choose to launch a decisive attack on the Inner Rim worlds, Hiigaran forces would be unable to render their assistance to the other Galactic civilisations. The lack of the _Koshiir Ra_ would no doubt greatly benefit the Mythra attackers, allowing them to pick away at the Alliance, destroying them race by race. Eventually, they would come to Hiigara and overwhelm even _Koshiir Ra_ by sheer numbers and force.

Despite her knowledge of this possible outcome, Yuno felt utterly helpless as every try to regain control ended in failure. No matter what cracking algorithm she used, the same outcome always persisted.

It was then that it happened. The virtual realm around her seemed to melt away, dissolving and remoulding itself into an enclosed room. Alarmed, she tried to leap out before the walls closed around her, only to slam painfully into the unyielding barriers of her prison cell. The voice of the technician came in, only to fade away as external communications were cut off.

"How intriguing… to think a race as primitive as yours has managed to achieve consciousness transfers," a voice suddenly sounded.

"To think that a race as advanced as yours should resort to such underhanded means," Yuno spat back at the spy, "I should think it disgraceful that you use such methods to defeat a 'primitive people' such as ours."

"Disgraceful? Then you fail to understand our priorities," the voice replied coolly, "Our directives state that we are to annihilate all that stand in our path using whatever means are available."

"Then you will be defeated," Yuno answered defiantly to the four walls of her cell, "We will defeat you just like we did five years ago."

"Then I'm sorry to disappoint you," the voice responded in mock apology, "That defeat was a calculated one, aimed at analysing the technologically capabilities of this Galaxy. We know that you are a primitive people reliant on the advanced but rare technologies of your Progenitor race. We know that it was only through this ancient technology that you were able to defeat us back then. With this knowledge at our disposal, it is a simple enough task to deprive you of this technology and ensure our victory."

"Even without the Progenitors, our people can still defeat you," Yuno declared, "We triumphed over the guardians of Progenitor technology, so what makes you think you'll be any different?"

"Brave words for a lesser race, I must admit," the voice chuckled, "Why don't we find out for ourselves then?"

* * *

The Hiigaran fleet flew into a panic as the _Koshiir Ra_ began to move on its own power and will. The Progenitor vessel began turning slowly in space, pulling and tugging on the tractor beams that held it securely to the Grand Shipyard _Sajuuk Khar_. Vibrations gripped the shipyard as the _Koshiir Ra_'s thrusters placed increasing strain on the _Sajuuk Khar_'s superstructure.

With a flare of energy and light, the _Koshiir Ra_'s main drives came to life, pushing the mighty vessel forward with incredible force. Safety protocols kicked in, cutting off the tractor beams before the shipyard could be torn in two.

By then, assault vessels were quickly moving in to fire upon the _Koshiir Ra_. Ion beams, mass drivers and plasma pulses headed straight for the rear of the ship in the hope of disabling its conventional drives. Sure enough, the attacks were merely halted by the shimmering barrier of the Guardian's distortion field.

Still, more and more Hiigaran ships vectored into the assault. Battlecruisers and destroyers fired off their mighty arsenals to support the phalanxes of ion frigates arrayed behind the Progenitor vessel, but commanders throughout the fleet knew that their attacks would be useless against the Guardian's field. Their only other option now was to direct every gravity well generator at their disposal at the _Koshiir Ra_ to halt it in space.

As the inhibitor fields sprang up around the Guardian, it became evident that the attempt at stalling the vessel was going to be futile as well. A glimmering wavefront of quantum energy opened before the _Koshiir Ra_ as the Grand Core casually shrugged off the effects of the inhibitor fields. The rest of the fleet could only watch helplessly as the _Koshiir Ra_ jumped away from Hiigaran orbit.

* * *

**Onboard the _Merciless II_, high orbit over Koshiir:**

"Prime Minister Talos, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the _Merciless II_," Admiral Ecron greeted warmly as he invited the Frerrn delegates to take their seats in the meeting suite.

"Thank you for granting us this meeting," Talos said as he sat down at the long table, "I presume you've already met General Xiedo?"

"Yes I have," Ecron replied as he glanced at the standing general, who was smartly attired in the silver-coloured Frerrn military uniform.

"I suppose you have many questions for us at this moment," Talos commented as he took a sip from a cup of water, "I will try my best to answer them."

"Then I'll get straight to the point," Ecron spoke in a more serious business-like tone, "Why the sudden re-emergence onto the Galactic scene?"

"I presume you already have knowledge on our withdrawal, so I'll just mention the important details," Talos replied, "We are here because there is a new threat to this Galaxy and the well-being of all sentient beings within it. Since this concerns the welfare of the Galaxy as a whole, we deemed it unwise and also irresponsible to remain in isolation while the other races fought to survive."

"No offence, but you weren't here when the Vaygr invaded, or when the Neo-Beast walked right over the Inner Rim," Ecron said with a tone of bitterness to his voice, "Everyone else was fighting for their lives while you were hiding away in that corner of the Galaxy."

"We chose not to emerge because we received news that the Hiigarans had acquired the _Sajuuk_ and the _Koshiir Ra_," Talos answered calmly, "According to our predictions, the presence of two Gods would be more than sufficient to deal with the Vaygr and the Neo-Beast. The prediction turned out to be quite accurate in the end."

"Yes, we won, but at what cost?" Ecron asked, anger rising slightly in his voice over the fact that the Frerrn Aggregate had been watching from the sidelines with technology that could have turned the tide much earlier, "The homeworlds of countless cultures and races were lost as a result! Entire civilisations were completely devastated with no hope of recovery! And you chose to watch just because two Gods were 'enough' to turn the tide?"

"It would be for the benefit of this discussion that we leave emotions out of the picture," Talos quickly said, "And while I acknowledge the heavy losses incurred, the fact remains that the war against the Neo-Beast ended in victory even without our assistance."

"I wouldn't call that a victory, not with all the casualties we all suffered," Ecron replied coldly.

"If our judgment has indeed caused unnecessary loss, then we apologise for not helping," Talos answered diplomatically, "But that is all in the past. Right now, we are here because the Galaxy is in great danger."

"Looks like it took the Mythra to force you out of your cosy corner," Ecron commented sarcastically.

"I will agree that the Mythra invasion was one of the factors leading to our re-emergence," Talos replied, "But it is not the Mythra that will possibly destroy this Galaxy. Rather, it is the dark ones behind them."

"The dark ones behind them?"

"There is another race of sentients with technology comparable to that of the Progenitors," Talos explained, "Unfortunately, their intents are far more sinister than even the rebels."

"And they are?"

"We know them as the Agemo, and while we are unsure of the purpose behind their constant invasions, it is quite certain that they bring complete destruction wherever they choose to go," Talos spoke grimly, "The Mythra were created by them to scout out and sunder the various galaxies they had targeted. Once the galaxy at hand was rendered largely helpless by the Mythra forces, the Agemo would then go in to deal the finishing blow. Their home galaxy is actually quite far from this cluster – about seven million light years to be exact. They would not have reached this Galaxy so quickly had the Progenitors not accidentally linked this Galaxy with theirs via the Gate of Hara. While the Progenitors were able to defeat the subsequent Mythra incursions, the Mythra and the Agemo were made aware of the universal coordinates of this Galaxy. Because of the threat posed by the Progenitors, they made it a point to eliminate this Galaxy as quickly as possible."

"So, what you're telling me is that the Mythra are just the appetiser, and that behind them there's really this super race that's out to wipe us out?" Ecron asked sceptically.

"That is the truth, and that is why we have come out to render whatever assistance we can in the defence of this Galaxy," Talos answered.

"Whoever told you that has certainly got a very lively imagination," Ecron laughed, "Even the best Taiidan writers can't come up with novels of such creativity!"

Talos remained dead silent as Ecron laughed heartily, calming down sufficiently to resume the discussion after a minute.

"Now then, which 'prophet' of yours made that 'accurate' prediction?" Ecron asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm, completely unprepared for the answer that was to come next.

"You know him as the Great Maker, or He Whose Hand Shapes What Is," Talos said slowly and steadily as the look on Ecron's face changed from one of utter contempt to one of utter shock and bewilderment, "We know him as Sajuuk."


	12. Looming Crisis

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 11: LOOMING CRISIS**

* * *

"Impossible!" Ecron exclaimed incredulously, "Countless millennia have passed since the Progenitors disappeared! He couldn't have lived that long!"

"Actually, we don't really know whether he's still alive," Talos admitted.

"Wha…?" Ecron asked, his bewilderment giving way to confusion.

"In fact, we received a scattered hyperspace transmission about a year ago," Talos explained, "While we couldn't trace its source, it was confirmed to be Progenitor in origin after extensive testing."

"And why would you suspect it to be Progenitor in origin, and from Sajuuk in particular?"

"Because design specs for various aspects of Progenitor technology were transmitted along with the message," Talos answered, "To be exact, we received data concerning Far Jumpers, phased energy weapons, and antimatter technology."

"So what did the message say?" Ecron asked, his eyes watching Talos with great curiosity and interest.

"Everything I've just told you about the Agemo, along with a note that the one behind the transmission was Sajuuk himself," Talos replied as he took another sip of water, "I'm sorry the whole thing sounds rather far-fetched, but who else would have the means and knowledge of such advanced technology?"

"Any other ancient race that has lived since the Progenitors' time," Ecron bluntly said, "But since the Progenitors have been identified as the sole creators of the Far Jumpers up till now, I guess we can give that prophecy some credibility…"

"'Some' credibility?" Talos asked disappointedly, "I was hoping you would be fully convinced."

"I'll believe it when I see it with my own eyes," Ecron countered as he got up to leave, "Now if you will excuse me for the next hour, I have business with my doctor…"

"What if I told you that we received more than that transmission?" General Xiedo suddenly spoke, "What if I told you that…"

"The Admiral has already expressed his doubts on the matter, and those doubts are understandable given the circumstances," Talos said to Xiedo.

"With all due respect Prime Minister, as advanced as our military forces are, it will not stand up to a joint Mythra-Agemo invasion," Xiedo rebuked as he continued staring at Ecron, who had paused at the door and turned to face the general.

"I am sure that any such doubts will be cleared up with ample time," Talos chided, "I do not see how a ship's display will do any good to hasten the process."

"Prime Minister, we do not have the 'ample time' you speak of," Xiedo argued, "If the prophecy is true, and we cross-reference the details with the recent Mythra attacks on the Inner Rim, then the Agemo could arrive anytime within the week! Perhaps even within the next few days! If we do not have a unified Galactic fleet by then, then this Galaxy will truly be doomed to fall!"

"I see there is no convincing you," Talos noted thoughtfully, "Very well. Do what you deem fit, general, to clear the doubts of Sir Ecron."

"Thank you, Prime Minister," Xiedo said slowly as he lifted his wrist communicator to his lips, "Xiedo to _Guardian_, decloak now."

Without saying a word, Ecron walked back to the meeting table and tapped a few buttons on the armrest of his seat. The room dimmed as a panel on the wall slid away to reveal a flickering viewscreen. It took a few moments for the screen to form a view of the Frerrn Aggregate fleet that was holding position before the _Merciless II_.

Ecron managed to make out a slight glimmer of warping light on the right extreme of the Frerrn formation. The glimmer was quickly amplified as the decloaking continued, revealing a crisp outline of the ship at hand. And then, the ship dropped back into the visible spectrum, shocking Ecron almost as much as when Talos had first revealed the Frerrn's links with Sajuuk.

It was the unmistakable design of a Progenitor Dreadnaught.

Talos, judging from the look on Ecron's face, concluded that the Admiral was now fully convinced.

* * *

**Onboard the _Tiamat_, the Shining Hinterlands:**

It was Kiir's first time onboard a T-MAT vessel, and while the T-MAT had done everything in their power to make the visitations area as accommodating to Bound personas as possible, the ship's interior still looked somewhat spartan and claustrophobic.

He had bravely made the suggestion of a proper diplomatic meeting between the Vaygr, the T-MAT, and the Nalthorans. While the T-MAT were agreeable to the idea, the Nalthorans had cried foul and accused the Hiigarans of plotting against the Alliance. Even with T-MAT intervention, the Nalthorans' unforgiving nature continued to rear its ugly head. Kiir could not get adequate assurance of Vanaar's safety onboard the _Redemption_, while the Nalthorans stubbornly refused to send a delegation to the _Scimitar_, stating that they had no intention of sending their diplomats to "certain death." Since _Eidolon_ had been built as a war-ready dreadnaught with no proper diplomatic facilities, the only other option in the immediate vicinity was the T-MAT mothership itself.

Kiir watched nervously as a heavily-armed Nalthoran delegation stormed into the close confines of what the T-MAT called a "meeting room." Being Unbound and connected to their ships, the T-MAT had no use for such facilities except for formal receptions involving Bound dignitaries. While the place had not been designed to accommodate the personnel involved in multilateral talks, Kiir knew that room space was going to be the least of their concerns.

"The Unbound sure have different ideas on what chairs are," Soban commented unhappily as he tried to make himself comfortable on his seat, which was a small and hard disc set on top of a single metallic leg.

"I guess the T-MAT like a minimalist approach," Kiir tried to joke in spite of his current mood.

"_Your attention please,"_ the T-MAT's collective voice spoke over the intercom, _"To facilitate the progression of these diplomatic talks, we request that all arms be surrendered immediately to the nearest droid."_

As the voice died away, small panels in the walls slid open to reveal waist-high crystalline droids. The machines gathered around the table and began warbling loudly for the temporary seizure of any and all hand arms. Audible curses could be heard coming from the Nalthoran delegation as the security officers and representatives passed their weapons to the droids. While the Hiigaran delegation only surrendered light ion pistols to the droid on the Hiigaran side, Kiir's eyes widened when he saw the Nalthorans produce heavy plasma rifles, rapid-fire ion guns, and even shock grenades.

The doors to the room opened as the droids moved away quickly with the last of the Nalthorans' firepower. Vanaar strolled in nonchalantly, accompanied by a group of Vaygr warrior guards. Completely oblivious to the cold and hateful stares from the Nalthoran delegation, he sat down calmly on his side of the round table.

It took another minute or so before the T-MAT droids could whisk away the various weapons of the Vaygr group, allowing the meeting to begin proper.

"_This diplomatic meeting has officially begun,"_ the T-MAT spoke like an omniscient presence, _"As a formality, will the various delegates kindly introduce themselves?"_

"I am Kiir Sjet, Kiith'sa of Sjet and Hiigara'sa of the Hiigaran Republic," Kiir introduced as he stood up before the others.

"I am Rei Araman, and I speak on behalf of King Ora for the Nalthoran Kingdom," the Nalthoran spoke icily, never shifting his hateful gaze from the Vaygr group for even a moment. All it did was solicit a slight chuckle from the Vaygr warlord as he stood up and dwarfed the others with his sheer build and height.

"Allow me to introduce myself as Vanaar, Supreme Commander of the Warriors of the Fringe," the warlord smiled as he enunciated the words clearly and crisply, "I sincerely hope that history doesn't get in the way…"

"If it weren't for the confiscation, you'd be history right now," Rei growled as the rest of the Nalthoran delegation shifted restlessly in their seats.

"Sir Rei, please," Kiir spoke quickly, "Let us discuss these matters in a civilised manner."

"_Indeed. The purpose of this meeting is to come to an agreement with the Vaygr forces,"_ the T-MAT agreed, _"Let us not stray from this agenda."_

"Perfectly understandable, considering what the Nalthorans suffered at our hands in the past," Vanaar began in a smooth, conversational tone, even managing to appear a bit remorseful for what the Vaygr had done to the Nalthorans in the past, though his next remark meant otherwise, "But as fate would have it, we are now seated in this room to discuss an alliance treaty."

"We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the T-MAT and the Hiigarans, along with the current Galactic circumstances," Rei replied in a barely-controlled voice that seethed with pure rage, "Even if a treaty comes to pass, we will never forgive you Vaygr for your actions."

"The Vaygr have never suffered any such full-scale invasions before, so I'm afraid I cannot really sympathise," Vanaar spoke with neither warmth nor sarcasm, "These issues aside, I have no other conditions for this new relationship with the Alliance."

"_But why an unconditional alliance at this stage?"_ the T-MAT queried, _"Granted – the Mythra are becoming a serious threat to the Galaxy's security, but why now?"_

"Let's just say that I've done some reflecting after the sacrifice of our previous Vaygr Khar," Vanaar answered in a calm and detached manner, "And let us say that I have come to the conclusion that a disunited Galaxy can never prevail against the Mythra."

There was a momentary silence as Vanaar's words sank in. This sounded too good to be true, even for Kiir. While Vanaar had carried himself as a character who was anyone but ordinary during Kiir's meetings with him, the warlord's choice of words was puzzling even with that knowledge.

"All I can say is that you show more eloquence than your predecessor," Rei commented, making no effort to hide the sarcasm.

Such rudeness, coming from what he thought was a people who were sore losers, was inexcusable even for Vanaar. But he swallowed his anger temporarily, maintaining a diplomatic look on his face, though the calmness had faded considerably.

"Perhaps, but I would think it wise to watch my mouth if I were you, Nalthoran."

Rei's voice was colder than the great void of space, "Barbaric murderers deserve no politeness."

"That is enough," Kiir quickly interjected in an attempt at controlling the situation, "The Vaygr have done crimes against us that are as bad, if not worse, than the deeds against your kingdom. Remember that atmosphere deprivation warheads were dropped into Hiigara's atmosphere during the final battle of the Vaygr War, and again after our second Exodus."

"And you welcome them as friends barely five years after," Rei commented, his icy tone unwavering, "Remember that it was not the Progenitors that killed your people, but the Vaygr who wiped every last Hiigaran life from the face of your homeworld."

"As terrible as that tragedy was, it will pale in comparison to a Mythra invasion that succeeds because we are not united," Kiir answered, his calm voice wavering slightly.

"Grand ideals indeed," Rei almost laughed, "I wonder what Karan would've felt, seeing her dearest disciple siding with an enemy that has committed such heinous crimes…"

"How dare you?" Kiir demanded, his calmness and patience running out rapidly.

"Do I not speak truth? That you have chosen to befriend an enemy that has tried to destroy the very people she strove to protect, even at the expense of her own life?"

No sooner had Rei finished speaking when he was suddenly thrown backwards by the invisible force of a telekinetic outburst, crashing heavily on the hard metallic wall behind him. An audible yelp of pain could be heard as the Nalthoran crumpled to the floor, writhing on the floor in agony. The rest of the delegation was incensed, standing up to hurl unimaginable insults at the Hiigaran group, which was trying very hard to restrain a visibly angered Kiir. Alarms sounded as T-MAT security droids swarmed into the room to contain the situation.

"_Desist at once, or we will not hesitate to use drastic measures!"_ the T-MAT ordered as their security droids tried to keep the Nalthorans from lunging at the Hiigarans' throats.

"Sajuuk damn it, this meeting's over!" Soban bellowed as he quickly dealt a hard blow to Kiir's neck, knocking his superior out cold before he could do anything explosive with his abilities. Wasting no time, the Hiigaran marines quickly grabbed their unconscious Hiigara'sa and carried him out of the chaotic room, followed by an equally-furious Soban who was trying his best to ignore the Nalthoran insults.

Vanaar agreed wholeheartedly with the Hiigarans' departure, and stood up to leave calmly with his entourage, completely oblivious to the restrained Nalthorans' cries and screams of rage. Only when his hair crackled from the sudden pulse of an electromagnetic pulse did he stop to turn around.

The T-MAT security droids had been completely disabled by a blast from a hidden Nalthoran EMP device. The Vaygr guards quickly rushed forward to protect their Vaygr Khar, only to fall unconscious at the firepower of stun guns that the Nalthorans had not surrendered. The seething mass of Nalthorans lunged for the outnumbered Vaygr Khar, their hands shooting for his throat and their clenched fists plummeting towards his body. Vanaar merely sighed, reacting to the Nalthoran brawlers by dodging their punches and rendering them unconscious with quick sharp blows mastered after decades of Vaygr martial arts training. A quick scan of his surroundings quickly revealed another group of Nalthorans waiting in the rear, their stun guns aimed directly at him.

Therefore, Vanaar told the Nalthorans to stop.

"Nothing disgusts me more than a group of savages ganging up on a lone and unarmed individual," Vanaar told the telekinetically-paralysed group of Nalthorans, his eyes glowing with the rage of an angered Vaygr warrior.

Whereupon the remaining Nalthorans crumpled unconscious to the floor from the full-powered mindblast that followed.

Dusting off his crumpled uniform, Vanaar answered his wrist communicator which had suddenly come to life.

"My lord, the Nalthoran fleet is taking up attack vectors. Your orders?"

Vanaar sighed once again as he made his decision, "Retaliate."

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_, the Shining Hinterlands:**

"Priority alert, Nalthoran vessels on incoming vectors with weapons hot!" Eliir announced, "The Nalthorans have thrown a communications blanking field over the _Tiamat_. I can't contact the captain."

"Raising shields and powering up all weapons," Aalcor spoke as he switched to combat-readiness, "Acting captain?"

"Hold fire, we don't want to go to war unless it's absolutely necessary," Taruur quickly answered.

A series of vibrations gripping the bridge quickly changed the First Officer's mind.

"Alright, change of plans," Taruur muttered as he rushed to the command console, "Return fire, target drives and weapons only."

Aalcor nodded and calmly gave an efficient response to the Nalthoran attack. Turbopulsars locked on and lashed out at the oncoming Nalthoran fighters with their blue lances of light. The strike craft were reduced to immobile pieces of metal as the precision strikes did their work.

"Looks like the Vaygr are fighting back too," Eliir commented as the main viewscreen was lit up by the vermillion flare of the _Scimitar_'s phased cannon array and the battlecruisers' lesser phased energy cannons. The uncanny power of Progenitor technology pierced right through several Nalthoran destroyers and heavy cruisers without trouble, detonating the ships' reactors in several blazes of light.

"Picking up quantum waveform generation all over – the Nalthorans are escaping to hyperspace," Eliir updated a moment later as the Nalthoran fleet disappeared from normal space, evidently retreating from the incredible firepower of the Vaygr fleet.

"Looks like the battle has ended with little loss of life," Taruur noted with relief, "Sora, take us to the _Tiamat_. We need to pick up our captain and Hiigara'sa."

"Wait, sensors are picking up a massive hyperspace inhibitor field!" Eliir exclaimed with sudden shock, "Nalthoran fleet is dropping from hyperspace! Super dreadnaught class hyperspace signature detected!"

"What in Sajuuk's name…" Taruur uttered as he saw the _Koshiir Ra_ slide back into normal space before the gathered fleets.

* * *

Yuno watched in horror as the _Koshiir Ra_ dispatched a T-MAT megaship calmly by impaling it with a distortion field. The intruder had cruelly granted her a view of the outside from within her prison cell in a bid to mock her helplessness.

"No! Stop it!" Yuno cried helplessly as the Nalthorans and T-MAT scrambled to retaliate, with the Vaygr fleet and the _Eidolon_ surging forward to assist.

"_Let's see how your lesser race triumphs against a God,"_ the intruder's voice laughed.

* * *

**Onboard the _Veer Rak II_:**

Eefrit groaned as the bridge swam into existence before his dazed eyes. His head felt like there was somebody bashing his brain at regular intervals. With the rest of the crew either dead, unconscious, or barely conscious, Eefrit decided that it had been a bad idea to blind jump. Not only had the ship suffered substantial damage, as determined from the lack of operable consoles remaining on the bridge, there was also no guarantee that the blind jump had removed them from danger as it was supposed to do. Struggling to his feet, Eefrit tapped at a few unresponsive buttons in a bid to get the main viewscreen online. Sure enough, the viewscreen remained blank.

"Damn it, we're flying blind here," Eefrit cursed under his breath, "Anyone still there?"

"I'm here," Commander Faruun mentioned from the sensors console.

"By Sajuuk, you need to rest," Eefrit exclaimed when he saw the bandages on the commander's left leg.

"The painkillers'll last," Faruun dismissed as he continued to tap away at the barely functional station before him, "We're back in normal space."

"What's still working around here?"

"Conventional drives are at thirty percent power, life support at seventy percent," Faruun listed, "Everything else is offline. Amazingly, we still have auxiliary sensors."

"Well, where the hell are we?" Eefrit asked impatiently, knowing it was not good to be stranded in hostile space without hyperspace capability.

"The sensors aren't giving many details, but all I can say is that we're in a debris field of some sort," Faruun replied, "There's also this strange mass of energy signatures just several thousand kilometres from here. I'm attempting to glean more data…"

"Take your time, from the looks of it we'll be stuck here for quite some time," Eefrit trailed off as he went to assist a wounded officer.

It was only through helping the wounded that Eefrit managed to see the extent of the carrier's damage. The ship's hull had been breached in many sections, and there were wounded officers everywhere. Sickbay was overcrowding and the hangar bay was a mess of ruined construction and docking equipment.

Engineering had been worst hit. The main reactor core had suffered a partial breach, causing the immediate deaths of most of the engineering crew before emergency safeguards could kick in. The plasma leak had also damaged the hyperspace module beyond repair, meaning there was no way for them to even limp back to Hiigara. To top it off, the carrier's hyperspace communication array had been knocked out as a consequence of their blind jump.

As Eefrit returned to the bridge, exhausted from carrying so many wounded personnel to sickbay, he prayed for some good news from the commander.

"Anything new?" the admiral asked in a weary voice as he dragged himself through the doors.

"I managed to get the auxiliary sensors up to sixty percent effectiveness, and astronavigation's partially online," Faruun reported as he stared at the flickering viewscreen, "In other words, I know where we are, but you're not going to like what I've found."

"We're stuck in a barely-functional carrier with enough supplies to last us a few more days, what could be worse?" Eefrit rolled his eyes as he sat down on the nearest intact seat.

Faruun shrugged as he tapped another button, "We're in a debris field a few hundred thousand kilometres from the Gate of Hara. Preliminary scans also reveal a… a considerable Mythra presence around the gate."

Eefrit's eyes widened in bewilderment at the news, "Considerable? Considerable as in…?"

"Sensors estimate at least a few dozen Spheres," Faruun continued, "And the gate's active."

"Sajuuk be damned."


	13. Crisis Point

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 12: CRISIS POINT**

* * *

The super dreadnaught _Sajuuk_ now drifted majestically in high Hiigaran orbit. Once an awe-inspiring warship with the ability to create or destroy entire worlds, _Sajuuk_ was now nothing more than a dead derelict, suited more to the role of a space-based memorial. The three mighty Hyperspace Cores, once uncanny tools with the power to far jump across the Galaxy, were now nothing more than chunks of burned out circuitry.

Despite the horrible state of the warship, a small group of Hiigarans remained onboard as a skeleton crew. While the _Sajuuk_ was now considered to be effectively neutralised, the New Daiamid had acknowledged the dangers of letting it fall into enemy hands. Derelict or not, the Progenitor technology onboard _Sajuuk_ was just far too advanced and dangerous to be abandoned.

For the Hiigaran marines on the vessel, life had gone on virtually unchanged since the end of the war five years ago. They would patrol the internals of the _Sajuuk_ every few hours, making sure that everything was in order and that there were no Hiigaran enemies trying to steal the ship. So monotonous was their job that the marines actually prayed for an anomaly to occur.

It was quite a pity, because the hostile takeover event they had been dreaming of was actually happening right under their noses.

* * *

…

_Internal sensors online._

_Running systems diagnostics…_

_Hyperspace capabilities offline._

_Weapons systems offline._

_Life support at ninety-four percent._

_Initiating basic repairs…_

_Engaging emergency backup protocols._

_Scanning quantum entanglement databanks…_

_Scan complete. One consciousness located._

_Loading consciousness…_

* * *

"The hell's going on?" the Sjet engineer cursed when the computers suddenly ceased to run the inputted Sjet programs. Instead, lines upon lines of random characters flooded the screens as the _Sajuuk_'s main computer core inexplicably booted up on its own.

"Damn it, did you do something?" another Sjet asked as he tried to comprehend the situation, "According to my screens here, the nanite repair system's starting up."

"It's not my fault! The whole thing just began booting up on its own!" the engineer responded in a panic, "Should we contact _Sajuuk Khar_?"

"If the higher levels get word of this, our careers are finished," the programmer replied, trying to keep his calm, "I'll try to shut down the boot sequence from here. Meanwhile, you can try and see if you can cut off main power."

"Got it."

* * *

"Crap, the bulkheads are sealing!" the marine exclaimed as he saw the doors slowly but steadily sliding shut in the orange glow of the backup lights.

"C'mon people, we've got to get back to the bridge!" the sergeant yelled, "Sajuuk damn it. What the hell are they doing up there?"

The security patrol broke out into a dash as the soldiers tried desperately to reach the bridge before the bulkheads were completely sealed. However, they knew they were not going to make it. With the bridge at least five sections away and the bulkheads' doors already half-closed, they would only come within two sections of the bridge at best speed.

None of them had any clue as to what was going on.

* * *

…_Basic repairs at five percent._

_Hyperspace capabilities restored to zero point three five percent._

_Accessing navigational databanks… complete._

_Coordinates locked in._

_Engaging hyperspace._

* * *

The Hiigaran fleet was already panicking over the sudden hijacking and departure of the _Koshiir Ra_, and the mysterious disappearance of Yuno Manaan only made matters worse. Without Yuno overseeing the bulk of the fleet's operations, proper mobilisation had to wait until the _Pride of Hiigara_ had been successfully crewed with an emergency complement of personnel for the situation.

As the last crew transport pulled away from the _Pride_, the already overtaxed Hiigaran Fleet Command received other undesirable news.

The _Sajuuk_, dead and derelict for the past five years, had suddenly revived its basic systems for no apparent reason.

This sudden development threw the high command into chaos. Commanders and tacticians argued over the next course of action and debated the appropriate response to both situations. As the chaos grew, the _Sajuuk_ casually opened a quantum wavefront and slipped silently into hyperspace.

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_, the Shining Hinterlands:**

General Soban dashed through the bridge doors and gestured at Taruur, who immediately moved away from the primary command station. Walking right up to his rightful position, Soban quickly gave his orders.

"Lock all weapons on the _Koshiir Ra_ and fire at will," he barked, "We must protect the _Tiamat_ and the _Redemption_ at all costs!"

"Affirmative," Aalcor acknowledged as he went about keying in the necessary firing commands, "By the way sir, where is the Hiigara'sa?"

"He's had to see to… other issues at this point in time," Soban quickly responded, "In the meantime, we need to get into effective firing range. Sora, take us up close to the _Koshiir Ra_, maximum evasive."

The _Eidolon_'s helmsman nodded and gripped the ship controls tightly. A slight groan could be heard as thrusters pushed the dreadnaught away from the _Tiamat_, turning the ship to face the rogue God before them. Another series of shudders reverberated through the _Eidolon_ as it fired off a salvo of sixteen fusion torpedoes, sending the objects of mass destruction at the _Koshiir Ra_ up ahead.

Meanwhile, the T-MAT and Nalthoran fleets had brought their weapons to bear on the Progenitor vessel, firing off every single weapon in their arsenal. Explosions lit up the surrounding space as ion beams and plasma bolts slammed into the Guardian's distortion field, creating a dazzling light show that did no damage to the ship itself.

And then the _Eidolon_'s fusion torpedoes impacted. Carrying nuclear fusion payloads rather than standard super-dense explosives, the specially-made torpedoes easily outdamaged every other Nalthoran missile in use. Light blossomed from the impact points as the torpedoes detonated.

At this point, the _Eidolon_ swept in with secondary weapons blazing. Turbopulsars and heavy ion cannons spat their firepower at the _Koshiir Ra_, slashing lines of pure energy across the protective distortion field, which shook off the assault like it was nothing more than an insect bite.

"Sensors indicate no effect to the distortion field," Eliir reported, "The field has been reconfigured for maximum defence against our weapons."

"Then we maintain pressure on the field," Soban ordered, "Aalcor, sustain fire on a localised area of the field…"

"Alert, energy spike detected in the distortion field," Eliir exclaimed, "Distortion field attack imminent!"

Before Soban could even yell "Brace," the _Koshiir Ra_ sent a dagger-shaped distortion field slamming into the dreadnaught with maximum force. The primary distortion field of the _Eidolon_ collapsed instantly, unable to withstand the sheer pressure of the superior field, while the secondary energy shields flared and overloaded under the attack. As the shield generators overloaded, power surges swept through the dreadnaught, causing a few of the bridge consoles to spark and explode.

Needless to say, the bridge was seemingly gripped by a terrible quake as the _Eidolon_'s gyros were overwhelmed. The dreadnaught spiralled helplessly away from the Guardian, the hull and armour barely holding under the stress.

Sprinklers proceeded to drench the bridge as the smoke reached the emergency detectors. Amidst the sudden chaos, Soban managed to regain his balance and get back on his feet.

"Primary shields offline, secondary shields holding at nineteen percent," Aalcor reported grimly, "We've lost power to the fusion torpedo bays."

"Primary sensors are offline as well," Eliir yelled from her barely-functioning console, "We still have auxiliary sensors though."

"Take us around for another salvo," Soban muttered, "Ready the phased energy cannon."

Warning klaxons sounded as Aalcor keyed in the firing commands. Meanwhile, the dreadnaught turned around to face the _Koshiir Ra_ once more, its main weapon glowing with increasing intensity. Seconds later, the lights on the bridge dimmed slightly as the phased energy cannon fired at maximum power, connecting the _Eidolon_ and the Guardian's distortion field with a vermillion beam of light.

But not even the incredible power of the phased energy cannon was able to breach the field. The vermillion phased energy simply flowed outwards from the point of impact, sizzling and crackling over the distortion field but failing to break through.

And then more phased energy blasts leapt through the vacuum of space, the beams blasting into various locations on the field.

"The Vaygr forces have come within effective firing range," Eliir announced, "Their capital ships are opening fire."

"I think I'm starting to trust that lot of Vaygr," Soban commented, "Let's keep up the pressure!"

With that, the _Eidolon_'s heavy ion cannons and turbopulsars swivelled to target the _Koshiir Ra_ and fired, adding to the fireworks display that was dancing brilliantly on the outskirts of the distortion field.

"Sir, the distortion field is starting to destabilise!" Eliir cried, "If we can get all the ships to focus fire on a single spot in the next salvo, we might be able to break through!"

"Got it, open a channel to all ships in range and tell them what to do," Soban answered, "Aalcor, do we have torpedoes yet?"

"Fifteen more seconds to repair completion," came the reply.

"Captain, the allied forces are moving into formation," Eliir updated, "They'll be firing in thirty seconds!"

"Get ready to fire everything we've got on my mark," Soban ordered as he focused his attention on the main viewscreen.

* * *

**Onboard the _Koshiir Ra_, the Shining Hinterlands:**

"_Look at them now, look at them executing their last-ditch assault plan,"_ the voice laughed, _"Look at your allies gathering their ships into a tight formation. What would happen if we were to wrap a field around them now and compress it rapidly? Hmm?"_

"No! Stop it!" Yuno screamed, banging her tiny fists against the unyielding walls of her prison, "You underhanded scum!"

"_Oh, but this is the best part you know,"_ the voice continued, oblivious to her cries, _"This is the part where the baddies are supposed to fall. But no. This time, it's the other way round. This time, you lose."_

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_:**

"Mark!" Soban yelled.

And the _Eidolon_ let loose a flurry of destruction, its fusion torpedoes, ion beams, pulsar lances, phased energy beam – all of which joined the focused Alliance assault against the _Koshiir Ra_.

Every single ounce of the fleets' firepower converged on a single point on the Guardian's distortion field, creating a mighty blast of monstrous proportions that reverberated outwards on the shimmering distortion field. The field seemed to waver for a moment, as if it was finally failing under the combined assault.

"Distortion field's losing power, we're going to break…" Eliir reported in a relieved voice until her eyes caught the next set of sensor readings, which sent her into a panic, "By Sajuuk, power output is increasing exponentially!"

"Heavens, the _Koshiir Ra_ wasn't using a full strength field…" Soban managed to utter as the realisation sank in.

"A distortion field is forming right around us, it's going to seal us in!" Eliir almost screamed when the sensors showed the massive field forming around the gathered forces of the T-MAT, the Nalthorans, and the Vaygr.

"Sora, full reverse!" Soban bellowed as his helmsman swerved the ship around so violently that the inertial dampers were unable to compensate, sending the bridge into a bumpy spin, "Take us to hyperspeed now!"

The stars on the viewscreens seemed to bend and stretch as the _Eidolon_'s hyperphase drive went to maximum power, taking them from sublight to faster-than-light velocities in a mere moment. The dreadnaught blinked from view and reappeared a good distance from the fleets, which were now fully encased in a separate distortion field. Everyone watched the viewscreens helplessly as the waited for the inevitable crushing of the gathered fleets…

When Soban opened his eyes a few seconds later, there was no crushed debris floating in space, or dense radiation clouds from the simultaneous breach of so many fusion reactors in such a small volume of space.

Instead, the fleets remained, with the distortion fields holding in place.

* * *

**Onboard the _Koshiir Ra_:**

"…_What is this? What is happening?" _the voice asked with panic and anger, _"What have you done, woman?"_

"I… I…" Yuno managed to stutter as the walls of her prison faded away, allowing her to sense the presence of another being many times greater than herself, the innate artificial intelligence of the _Koshiir Ra_ itself.

"_What is going on? Why am I…"_

"_Silence, infidel," _boomed an even greater voice than the intruder's, _"To think that you dared to defile the names of the Gods."_

And an ear-piercing scream pounded Yuno's ears as the intruder was wrenched unceremoniously from his control of the Progenitor ship. The scream became louder and louder, reaching a maximum that Yuno could barely bear, and then faded away as quickly as it had come.

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_:**

"By the Gods, thank goodness it's all over now," Soban uttered in sheer relief, "What the hell took you so long, Yuno?"

"It wasn't me, it was _Koshiir Ra_ itself," Yuno explained, "Though I didn't know such an innate AI even existed."

"There're many mysteries about them Progenitors, we can't expect to decipher them all at once," Soban reminded, "In the meantime, have you located the intruder?"

"Security personnel have found the spy – he turned out to be an android sent by the Mythra," Yuno replied, "When they found it, they discovered that its electronic brain was completely fried. Heaven knows what _Koshiir Ra_ did to it…"

"Security countermeasures, I suppose," Soban muttered, "In the light of this incident, we'll need to up all computerised defences to prevent a repeat."

"Indeed, I have tripled firewall security and reset all personnel access passcodes," Yuno answered, "By the way, where is Kiir?"

"Oh, he's… he's alright I assure you," Soban responded nervously as he gestured to Eliir to scramble the communication, "Wait, you're breaking up… damned array must have taken some damage… we'll talk another time…"

As Yuno's further questions were lost amongst the static, Soban sat back and heaved a sigh of relief – at least until Eliir gestured for him to come over to her console.

"What's wrong now?" Soban asked in a somewhat relaxed tone.

"I've just received word from Hiigaran Fleet Command," Eliir whispered, "They've lost the _Sajuuk_."

"What?!"

* * *

**Onboard the _Veer Rak II_, the Gate of Hara:**

"We need to get back and warn the Alliance somehow," Eefrit commented as he bowed his head in thought.

"You're stating the obvious," Faruun replied as he took a break from staring at the sensors screen, "But with the ship like this?"

"We'll need to get either the hyperspace module or the hyperspace communications array repaired then," Eefrit said as he looked back at the Mythra contacts on the sensors.

"We don't have enough resources to rebuild another hyperspace module, and we can't set up a resourcing operation because of the Mythra's close proximity," Faruun reminded, "So we'll need to focus on the communications array."

"But even if we do get the array repaired, we'll need to figure out a way to send a transmission without being picked up by the Mythra," Eefrit muttered, "By the way, do you have any information as to why the debris field is hiding us from their sensors?"

"I have no idea, but a detailed sensor sweep should give us more data," the commander replied.

"Then I think it'd be best that someone else takes over the job. What you need now is some rest," Eefrit suggested as he gestured to one of the uninjured officers to take over.

"I'll take my leave then," Faruun said as he got up and limped towards the door, "If there's anything, I'll be in sickbay."

Eefrit nodded and waved the commander off as he walked over to what remained of the main command console. He pushed at a few buttons and was surprised to see the main viewscreen flicker to life, projecting a slightly fuzzy image of the debris outside. Straining his eyes, he managed to make out the silhouette of the massive hyperspace gate in the distance, and the shadows of the many Spheres gathered around it.

Five years ago, it had taken the combined effort of the entire Alliance fleet to beat just one Sphere fleet. While technological improvements to Galactic weaponry and tactical analysis of the enemy would allow them to retaliate better than during that first contact, Eefrit was unsure as to whether the current Alliance could fight off several, much less a few dozen of the Spheres and their accompanying fleet. Even with the _Koshiir Ra_…

It was then that the Gate of Hara flared with a light so brilliant it looked like a small star shining in the distance. As the light became brighter, a massive shadow began to emerge from the light, partially eclipsing the brilliance of the gate portal.

A ship was coming through, and it was definitely much bigger than the Spheres themselves.

As more of the ship's structure jutted out from the hyperspatial portal, Eefrit slowly began to realise the size and mass of the ship at hand. The frontal section, which resembled a massive blade that narrowed down to a thinner axle-like fuselage, was nearly too wide to pass through the Gate of Hara, whose diameter alone could have accommodated three _Qwaar Jet_s placed end to end without trouble. And it was so long that the ship didn't fully emerge until about a few minutes later, when the light of the gate died away.

The first thought that came to mind was a hunting spear of ancient times with long metallic fins running down its entire length, combined with the sleekness of a Kadeshi Needleship.

Only this ship was brimming with horrible-looking turrets that were easily visible even with the distance between the Gate and the _Veer Rak II_.

Before Eefrit was able to recover from the shock of seeing an actual working megalith, the Gate of Hara lit up once again.

And another began to come through.

All he could do was watch the viewscreen, completely frozen by terror.

* * *

**Onboard the _Sajuuk_, hyperspace transit:**

"_Approaching target destination."_

"_Standing by to disengage hyperspace."_

"_Consciousness loading complete, initiating consciousness."_

…

* * *

The Sjets on the bridge were terrified to find that their attempts to override automatic control were in vain. No matter what they did, or what override protocols they used, the _Sajuuk_ continued on its course through hyperspace without regard for their commands. Even more alarming was that the _Sajuuk_'s computers had locked down all communications systems, completely disabling the distress call systems.

The two Hiigarans closed their eyes, ready to resign to their fates, when the voice of a young woman echoed strongly through the bridge, bringing warmth where there was none before.

"Fleet Command, _online."_


	14. Invasion

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 13: INVASION**

* * *

It was a good while before Eefrit was finally able to rouse himself from his terror and count the number of ships that had successfully exited the gate. The fact that they even qualified for a count disturbed him tremendously.

There were seven megaliths in total now, and the Gate of Hara remained silent. That was it. There was no more to come.

Seven megaliths to defeat – how difficult could that get?

And then Eefrit felt the carrier shake.

"Space time disruptions detected," reported the new sensors officer, "Scans indicate that the Spheres and megaliths are preparing to engage time-space drives."

"How the hell are they going to jump so many ships at the same time?" Eefrit demanded, "Those drives cause hell to normal space. Assuming they all jumped simultaneously, the spatial shock would destroy them!"

"It seems that the megaliths are generating some kind of stabilising field to nullify the disruptive effects of the Spheres' drives," the officer replied after a quick consultation with the sensors, "With that field, it might just be possible for the Mythra to exceed the three-sphere jump limit."

"Holy martyrs of Kharak," Eefrit uttered when he heard the news.

The Mythra's mode of faster-than-light transportation was through the use of trans-dimensional devices known as time-space drives. The drive worked by folding space time sufficiently to create a wormhole between the Sphere and its destination. The Sphere would then plummet through the wormhole at FTL velocities rivalling the fastest achieved by the Hyperspace Cores, and emerge from the other end at its destination.

The problem with the time-space drive was that it folded space and time without regard for the safety thresholds of space warping - quite unlike the Progenitors' design philosophy as seen in the much safer Hyperspace Cores. As a result, while the time-space drive did not require tremendously complex jump algorithms that were needed with Hyperspace drives, they would cause substantial harm to the surrounding space, which would sometimes be bent and even damaged beyond natural repair. The destructiveness of the drive also meant that the opening and closing of wormholes would create substantial disruptions and shockwaves in the space time continuum, causing damage to ships that were too close.

For vessels as tough as the Mythra Spheres, such damage was insignificant. However, Sjet scientists had calculated that no more than three Spheres could jump simultaneously in a given period of time without endangering themselves. The reason was that a fourth time-space drive operating in the vicinity of three other drives would cause space to buckle dangerously beyond all safety thresholds, creating massive gravitational anomalies strong enough to tear planets apart, much less the smaller and more fragile Spheres. This also gave the Alliance tactical insight into defending crucial regions from the Mythra, for no more than a maximum of three Spheres could be expected at any point of attack.

But these new megaliths changed everything.

If the scans were true, then it would mean certain doom for the Alliance. Spheres would be able to leap in large numbers to a single target, and pulverise any defences via sheer brute force. Unless the Alliance changed tactics, focusing all ships and combat-capable vessels to defend a single location, there would be no way to fight off such an attack. And even then, that was with the assumption that they were dealing with Sphere fleets _alone_.

"By the way, the sensor sweep results are out," the officer added in a bid to calm the admiral down, "There appear to be a considerable number of malfunctioning beacons and signal echoes among the debris. It is possible that the Mythra have not detected us due to their sensors assuming our ship's signature to be a sensor ghost."

"I see," Eefrit noted as he tried his best to concentrate on the officer's report, "So, is it possible for us to get a long range transmission out once the hyperspace communications array is fixed?"

"If we use phased telemetry to mask the signal, we may just be able to do that," came the reply.

"Very well, so we'll just sit tight and wait for the array to be repaired then," Eefrit muttered as he turned his eyes back to the viewscreen, only to receive another shock.

At least a dozen stable wormholes had opened up before a dozen Spheres, and more were opening throughout the Mythra fleet, without any substantial disturbances to the space time continuum.

"Sensors indicate that twelve of the Spheres will be jumping in a few seconds," the officer reported as he interpreted the sensor readings.

Sure enough, twelve Spheres plunged into the wormholes and disappeared from view, while the rest continued to open up their stable jump portals at a slow but steady rate.

Things were going to get worse very quickly.

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_, the Shining Hinterlands:**

"I don't believe this – I just leave things alone for a while and things start going crazy," Kiir muttered as he walked down the corridor.

"Sorry for that hit," Soban apologised as he gestured to the doors of the bridge, "Things were getting out of hand…"

"We'll talk about that another time," Kiir dismissed in a gruff voice, "Meanwhile, what I'd like to know is how we nearly lost _Koshiir Ra_ to some android spy."

"Apologies, Kiir, it won't happen again," Yuno promised, "Internal and computer security's been boosted since then."

"Then there's still the _Sajuuk_," Kiir continued as he walked on through the doors with Soban following behind, "Granted, it's beyond repair, but it's still Progenitor technology nonetheless."

"Well, Fleet Intel has some ideas on where we could look," Soban said as the holographic projector came online, displaying a three-dimensional view of the Galaxy. The view enlarged as the projector zoomed in on the Hiigaran portion of the Galaxy – a region of space several hundred light years in diameter with Hiigara itself as the centre.

"According to Fleet Intel, sensors detected a far jump quantum frequency when the _Sajuuk_ jumped," Yuno explained, "The energy signature was quite weak, but they guessed it was still enough power to jump the ship to any of these locations."

"In other words, _Sajuuk _could be anywhere within a few hundred light years from Hiigara," Soban added as the display narrowed down the possible locations further, "After compensating for gravitational influences and spatial phenomena, we're left with the Sarum dust clouds, the Eastern Inner Rim dust bank, and the Karos Graveyard."

"Damn," Kiir swore loudly, "Of all places, Karos?"

"That would be the most probable location, since Sarum and the Eastern Inner Rim are some of the most frequently-patrolled regions of space," Yuno replied, "But if we're going into Karos, we'll need a complete Mothership fleet."

"We can't spare that many resources to find the _Sajuuk_, not with the Mythra moving so actively," Kiir muttered.

"I could go instead," Soban offered.

Kiir turned around to face Soban, wearing an incredulous look on his face. Even Yuno was so shocked that she chose to appear in her hologram form on the bridge.

"Why not? I mean, _Eidolon_'s equipped to go against Sphere fleets," Soban reasoned.

"Soban, you understand that the Karos Graveyard remains largely unexplored for many reasons?" Kiir spoke slowly, as if he were dealing with someone who had suddenly lost his mind.

"Besides, there's the problem of the Movers and the Keepers," Yuno reminded, "Not forgetting the Junkyard Dog, though we've yet to encounter another since the Homeworld War."

"Well, if you remember, we went into Karos five years ago and came out of it alive," Soban argued, "And that was before we had this new Qwaar Jet Cor class…"

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have an incoming transmission from the _Scimitar_," Eliir spoke suddenly from her station, "It says that we should be getting ready for battle."

"But why? There isn't anything on the sensors for light years!" Kiir exclaimed.

"_I apologise for barging into your mind so abruptly once again,"_ Vanaar's voice suddenly echoed in his mind, _"But it would be good if you and the rest of the Alliance fleet heeded our advice."_

"_Then would you care to explain why you can see something our sensors cannot?"_ Kiir demanded in return.

"_Fine,"_ Vanaar replied with some impatience, _"We Vaygr have certain means of detecting Mythra movements far sooner than your pitiful sensors. In fact, I'm surprised your people have yet to develop the means to detect a faster-than-light transit as crude as the Mythra's."_

And then the mental presence disappeared as quickly as it had come. At the same time, the bridge began to rock uncomfortably.

"Space-time distortions detected," Eliir reported, "Counting twelve trans-dimensional apertures opening before us."

"Twelve?!" Kiir exclaimed in disbelief, "How in Kharak's name did they manage to do that?"

"Raising shields, bringing us to red alert," Aalcor spoke calmly as he responded quickly to the new development.

"Sensors confirm twelve Spheres emerging into normal space!" Eliir announced with great alarm.

"Impossible," Kiir uttered, his shock and disbelief increasing beyond measure, "There's no way for the Mythra to jump more than three Spheres without destroying themselves!"

"I guess they found a way," Soban muttered as he prepared for the inevitable clash, "Kiir, fasten your seatbelts. Yuno, power up _Koshiir Ra_ and stand by to project a full strength distortion field around us."

Yuno's hologram nodded and shimmered away into nothingness. Kiir quickly found a seat and strapped himself in securely. He would have taken control of the _Koshiir Ra_, but right now his mind was in too much turmoil for him to concentrate.

The twelve Spheres loomed menacingly before the gathered forces of the T-MAT, the Nalthorans, and the Vaygr. The _Eidolon_ itself moved majestically to the centre of the fleet, its weapons and shields fully armed to deal with the threat.

The Spheres began to spew their docked fleets from within, and the battle began.

Vaygr phased cannon weaponry lashed out with their incredible range, sending the swords of light plunging into the clouds of Mythra capital ships. Before the doomed vessels could even began to explode, the T-MAT megaships swept in with their superior manoeuvrability and speed, their rapid fire ion cannons making short work of the strike craft that had escaped the Vaygr bombardment.

From the rear, Nalthoran frigates and cruisers entered the fray, supporting the T-MAT fleet with long range weapon strikes, while the Vaygr capital ships let loose their second salvo of long range heavy fusion missiles. Metal slugs and fusion warheads slammed into the alien ships, sending an entire wall of them to apocalyptic doom.

And then the Mythra fought back, the twelve Spheres firing off their lethal point defence weapons. Pulses of destructive energy rocketed through space towards their targets, only to halt and explode on the impregnable wall of _Koshiir Ra_'s field.

"Distortion field up at maximum power," Yuno announced, "You're all clear to go. I'll be summoning reinforcements, but with all the hyperspace disruption fields from the Spheres, even the Grand Core'll take time to recalibrate."

"Got it," Soban replied, "Aalcor, show them what we're made of."

Everyone on the bridge watched the main viewscreen as sixteen heavy fusion torpedoes blazed forward towards the oncoming waves of Mythra ships. Crackling bolts of ionic energy manifested themselves as the heavy ion cannons and the turbopulsars came online, sending a stern warning to any Mythra ship that dared to approach the _Eidolon_.

"Primary shields down to eighty-four percent," Aalcor reported after the dreadnaught took a heavy beating from a squadron of Mythra cruisers that had made it through the frontlines.

"I don't suppose we'll be needing holographic capabilities now, so reroute all holographic projector power to the shields," Soban ordered as the bridge shook slightly under another assault.

"Power rerouted, primary shield power and regeneration boosted, primary shield strength at ninety-three percent now," Aalcor replied calmly as he continued to target ship after ship with the _Eidolon_'s impressive array of sixteen high-power turbopulsars.

And a gasp from Eliir made everyone turn their heads towards her.

"…The Vaygr are launching new strike craft, putting it on the main viewscreen now…" Eliir uttered in a daze, as though she had just seen a ghost.

In addition to the assault craft and missile corvettes that were holding off the flights of Mythra strike craft, the Vaygr were now launching newer ships that resembled bombers, but were similar in size to the now-obsolete heavy fighter ACV chassis.

As the new "bombers" approached a swarm of Mythra drone fighters, they started firing pulses of plasma at the oncoming swarm. The pulses soared straight into the formations and exploded, sending shards of high energy plasma ripping through the clueless AI-controlled fighters.

Everyone's jaws dropped further when Eliir switched the view to that of a squadron of the new strike craft attacking a bunch of Mythra frigates. The heavy fighters now fired pulses of plasma that were contained in projectile-shaped magnetic fields, rather than the standard spherical-magnetic fields used by standard plasma bomb launcher systems. The result was that the plasma shots pierced and penetrated the hardy Mythra armour before detonating to release the high-energy payload beneath the layers of protection, rather than just spewing plasma over the outer hull like standard bombers did.

When the Vaygr first struck the Inner Rim during the End Time, thousands upon thousands of Hiigarans began to panic, invoking the memories of the superior strike craft of the Kadesh. No one had expected the Vaygr to wield a similar sword, using advanced strike craft technology to quickly rend Blade class interceptors to bits, while using heavily-armed corvettes to punch through Hiigaran gunship walls. Only with the advent of the flak frigate and the torpedo frigate during the height of the Vaygr invasion did the Hiigaran Navy get a chance to fight back against the seemingly unstoppable hordes of assault craft and laser corvettes.

And now, they were looking at a heavy fighter that nearly matched speeds with the lighter assault craft, which combined the anti-fighter capabilities of the assault craft with the anti-capital ship power of the laser corvette. Flak frigates would be easily torn apart by the plasma shard weapons before they could inflict sufficient damage, while torpedo frigates would stand no chance with their superior firepower but longer recycle times.

Once again, the Vaygr had shown how superior strike craft would easily triumph over the best of Hiigaran capital ship designs.

The only thing that comforted Soban and Kiir right now was that this incredible feat of strike craft engineering was being used against the Mythra.

There was no other way to describe it – the new Vaygr fighters were _pummelling_ through the astonished Mythra strike craft and frigates like they weren't even there, for the Mythra had committed the same technological mistake that so many other Galactic races had fallen prey to.

The Mythra were also a force that relied mainly on capital ships.

In what seemed a last desperate act to turn the tables, all twelve of the Spheres began glowing a crimson red as they charged up their main cannons, releasing their ionic shock fury at the Alliance fleet in a bid to exterminate the Vaygr strike craft threat. All twelve cannon blasts impacted and dissipated harmlessly along the outskirts of the _Koshiir Ra_'s distortion field.

A wave of confidence seemed to surge through the Alliance forces when the Spheres' last-ditch attack failed. Nalthoran, T-MAT, and Vaygr ships leapt forward with weapons blazing in a show of determination, determination to wipe out every last ship of the Mythra.

"I don't believe it – we're actually winning this! A battle against twelve Spheres!" Soban almost burst with glee and astonishment.

"Thank you, Vanaar," Kiir whispered in gratitude for the warlord's assistance. Any doubt he had had about Vanaar's sincerity in the Alliance was now vanquished by the impressive fight put up by the Vaygr Elite Guard.

The last of the Mythra's strike craft screens went to hell and the Vaygr swarms descended upon the vulnerable capital ships, bringing swift death to anything smaller than a destroyer. T-MAT and Nalthoran strike craft also supported their capital ship counterparts, focusing their fire on the ships which offered more resistance to the Vaygr swarms.

Hyperspace windows began opening up all around the Spheres as the Grand Core used its awesome power to pull in allied ships from all around the battle. Nalthoran, T-MAT, and Hiigaran reinforcements emerged from hyperspace, along with other battle groups from the Vaygr Crusades.

Victory was inevitable.

* * *

_Overwhelming resistance detected._

_Priorities reset._

_Moving into Final Phase._

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_:**

"Additional hyperspace signatures detected!" Eliir spoke as the new contacts sprang up, "Sensors indicate far jump signatures!"

"Far jump? Are you sure?" Kiir asked, standing up in surprise.

"Ships emerging from hyperspace," Eliir continued, "It's the Republican Taiidan, and another unknown fleet. The _Merciless II_ is requesting communications."

"Patch them through," Kiir ordered as Soban concentrated on winning the battle at hand.

"Kiir Sjet! It's good to see the Alliance intact!" Ecron's voice spoke with tremendous relief.

"It's good to see you too. I've heard of the recent tragedies that have rocked the Republic, I offer my deepest sympathies," Kiir replied.

"Thank you, but there is no time for this," Ecron answered with urgency, "I have with me here a representative from the Frerrn Aggregate. He wishes to speak with you immediately."

"The Frerrn Aggregate?" Kiir asked with faint surprise, "I suppose those unknown ships are theirs then?"

"Yes, they are ours," another voice other than Ecron's spoke suddenly, "I am Prime Minister Talos of the Frerrn Aggregate, and thanks to Sir Ecron here, we are your allies now. However, all of you must leave now!"

"No offence, but we're winning here," Soban interjected as he saw Aalcor finish off another Mythra cruiser with little trouble.

"Prime Minister Talos, why must we leave now? When victory is within reach at this very moment?" Kiir enquired.

"Because we will not stand a chance against what is yet to come, the darkness that the Progenitors strove to protect this Galaxy from," Talos replied in a more worried tone, "We must leave at once! You must use the Grand Core now and disengage from the battle!"

"But…" Kiir began to protest.

And then Eliir's console went crazy, warbling loudly in high pitched tones as the sensors picked up something they had never encountered before. The startled Sjet quickly calmed herself and went about resetting the alarm, only to gasp loudly at what she saw.

"Trans-dimensional aperture detected! Energy readings are off the scale!" Eliir managed to exclaim, her voice wavering with tremendous fear, "Something's coming through, and it's big!"

"Put it on the main viewscreen!" Kiir ordered in response. Moments later, the viewscreen displayed a massive portal opening above the besieged Mythra forces. It was shining so brightly that Kiir had to shield his eyes slightly from the glare.

And then something leapt out into normal space.

A sudden silence seemed to fall across the Alliance as pilots and captains stopped firing to gawk at the massive thing that had suddenly come into objective being above them. Even the Mythra ceased their fire, withdrawing and regrouping from the main battle.

For the first time in all their lives, the Alliance saw a working megalith, bristling with enough turrets to take out a few fleets on its own.

"_We are the Agemo,"_ the megalith broadcasted to every ship within range

"_This Galaxy shall be Modified."_

"_Stand down and stand by for Modification."_


	15. Ancient Enemy

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 14: ANCIENT ENEMY**

* * *

"_This Galaxy shall be modified."_

"_Stand down and stand by for Modification."_

The message was broadcasted to every Alliance ship in range, and carried by the cold emotionless voice of something almost unrecognisable as that of a sentient being. Not one ship moved as everyone present simply waited and observed, trying to predict what might be coming next.

"Hell, I don't need to be 'modified' in any way," Soban exclaimed, "Kiir, just give us the orders and we'll blast this thing to the stars."

"Remain on stand by, Soban," Kiir quickly responded, "Prime Minister Talos, do you have any information on this 'Agemo' that we could use to our advantage?"

"All that we know is that we cannot hope to oppose the Agemo in our current situation," Talos replied grimly, "The data we have indicates that it would take a unified Galactic fleet to take down one of those megaliths, assuming these twelve Sphere fleets are all that there will be in terms of additional resistance."

"But we have the _Koshiir Ra_ with us right now – we may not necessarily be at the losing end yet," Kiir argued, hoping he'd hear better news in return.

"I will admit that _Koshiir Ra_ is a plus point. However, what we are dealing with here far exceeds the threat posed even by the Neo-Beast," Talos answered, "You must remember that the Agemo had the power to go directly against the Progenitors themselves, using only their Mythra servants!"

"Are you hinting that these Agemo are possibly more advanced than the Progenitors?" Kiir asked, his voice getting more worried with every word.

"Whether they are or not, it is imperative for us to leave now," Talos replied with great urgency in his voice, "I hope you will make the correct decision, Hiigara'sa."

Kiir hesitated for a moment, studying the sensor data which Eliir had transferred to the side of the main viewscreen. Already, a formidable list of armaments had appeared and was lengthening by the second, each with the power to inflict tremendous destruction with a single shot.

He made his decision.

"Eliir, relay the message to retreat at once," Kiir ordered, "Yuno, shunt all power to the Grand Core. Get us out of here ASAP."

"Affirmative, shunting power for emergency jump," Yuno replied calmly as she made the adjustments.

"_Failure to stand down will result in destruction,"_ the Agemo megalith droned as it seemed to sense Kiir's decision.

"Picking up energy spikes from the megalith," Eliir reported as her console started beeping wildly, "I think they're powering up weapons!"

And then Kiir saw the megalith light up with the brilliance of a star as every single weapon it had in its disposal was fired and let loose at the gathered Alliance forces. The brilliance came closer and closer, and was replaced by the cerulean streaks of hyperspace as the Grand Core pulled every ship away from the Shining Hinterlands.

* * *

**Onboard the _Sajuuk_:**

Chaos, distress, alarm, terror.

The current situation was definitely not supposed to happen. None of her research had predicted this outcome.

She remembered the calm, soothing words of the medics as they plugged in the data shunts one by one, each cable pulling at her rapidly fragmenting consciousness as she was integrated into the Mothership's core.

"We're going to insert the primary data shunt," she remembered one of the medics to be saying, "This could be slightly disorienting for you. Are you ready?"

And she had closed her eyes, nodding slightly to indicate her preparedness.

When she opened them again, she had expected to find herself completely immersed in the Mothership's computer systems, just like what the simulations had shown her. She had expected to be dealing with familiar programs designed and coded by herself. She had expected to find herself suspended in high orbit over Kharak.

Only alien technology greeted her mind.

The mental shock of immersing the consciousness completely into a ship's computer interfaces was tremendous, yet nothing compared with the shock of finding oneself in a completely unexpected alien environment.

It was not completely alien either. The software was similar in some ways to the ones she originally coded, but far more advanced in terms of efficiency. It was almost as though the codes had gone through a century of evolution and development.

Then there were the navigational databanks, which contained various starcharts that mapped the Galaxy in astounding detail – detail that even the best of Kharakian astronomy data could only dream of. If there was truly a stage when all of the Galaxy could be fully and completely mapped out and explored, then these starcharts definitely proved that point.

But the most incredible thing of all was the hardware on this vessel, which she had suddenly commandeered by some freak anomaly. The ship was uncannily advanced, equipped with various features and weapons which she had never seen before, or believed to be even possible. If amazement had a limit, then her boundaries were reached when she discovered the incredible trinity of Cores at the heart of the ship, each one an exact replica of the cutting-edge hyperspace induction device discovered in the _Khar Toba_. They were, however, badly damaged, and though repairs were underway it seemed unlikely for the Cores to be completely restored.

A computerised alert surfaced before Karan, something about the escape pod systems being put into operation, but she chose to ignore it. She needed to find out where exactly she was right now, and to establish as to whether the ship was in any immediate danger. After all, whatever had driven her people to Kharak had obviously been too much for them at the height of their power.

Most importantly, she needed to return to Kharak where she was needed, or the Mothership would never launch.

"Just stay calm," Karan told herself as she looked around her virtual surroundings, which were just as disturbing to her as the alien ship itself. For one thing, she could not feel her physical self. Her body seemed to be missing for some reason, which was not possible by all counts. According to her research, a complete consciousness transfer was impossible.

Karan focused her thoughts, manipulating the streams of data like she had done in the simulations. The computers responded to her request, bringing up coordinate data as she prepared the ship for a hyperspace jump. Nothing should go wrong, at least in theory. After all, this ship was much more advanced than even the most cutting edge of Mothership systems. A hyperspace jump should be of no trouble in any way.

Whereupon she felt the internal conduits surge with pure quantum energy as the Three Cores pulled the ship into hyperspace.

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_:**

"Emergency alert, a malfunction has been detected within the Grand Core," Yuno warned suddenly, "The quantum waveform is collapsing!"

"What do you mean it's malfunctioning?" Kiir exclaimed in return, gripping a handrail tightly as the dreadnaught began to shake.

"I'm not sure, I'm attempting to determine the cause…" Yuno trailed off as she ran a quick diagnostic.

"Sensors indicate that we are losing hyperspatial velocity at an exponential rate," Eliir reported as her console was flooded with sensor updates, "Reversion to normal space in fifteen seconds."

"… Glitch located," Yuno said almost immediately after, "It's the Core itself. The Core has rejected all coordinate data and is operating on its own programming now."

"Can you override?" Kiir asked.

"I've been completely locked out," Yuno replied helplessly, "I think it's fortunate that the _Koshiir Ra_ is still under our control."

"We're dropping out of hyperspace!" Eliir exclaimed as the shaking escalated to a maximum, causing the warning lights to blink angrily.

The blue streaks of hyperspace swirled chaotically, bending and warping in all directions as the scene tore apart, becoming replaced by the blackness of normal space. The gyros kicked in within moments, stabilising the dreadnaught and halting the quakes.

"We've dropped out of hyperspace, all systems nominal," Eliir announced, "Long range sensors indicate that the Agemo and the Mythra are in pursuit, ETA ten seconds."

"Looks like we'll just have to blow them to hell," Soban muttered, "You agreeable with that, Kiir?"

"If our weapons indeed have any effect, that is," Kiir answered.

"Incoming transmission from the Frerrn flagship," Eliir spoke again, "Patching them through."

"I take it you'll fight alongside our forces?" Kiir asked immediately as the combat alert superimposed a foreboding red on the original ambient lighting of the bridge.

"Since a battle is inevitable, we will assist you however we can," Talos replied quickly, his voice raised in an attempt to drown out the warning klaxons droning in the background, "Bear in mind that this is a highly advanced force that we will be going against."

"Trans-dimensional apertures opening," Eliir warned, "They're here."

All eyes turned to the main viewscreen as the very fabric of space and time gave way, revealing the shimmering portal of bent space. From within the depths of the portal, a black speck appeared in the distance, increasing in size rapidly as it approached the exit into normal space.

And then the other lesser portals of the Mythra Spheres began opening up in the vicinity of the main portal, shimmering and pulsating with refracted and reflected starlight. Within moments, the twelve mighty Spheres of the Mythra fleet emerged from their portals, quickly manoeuvring into combat formations and releasing their forces simultaneously.

Dozens of missiles blazed forward as the Frerrn made the first move, seeking to gain the advantage of a first strike before the enemy was ready. A wall of fire erupted and burned the Spheres in a deadly inferno, their launching fleets standing no chance against such a swift attack.

"We will make the first strike," Talos commented to a wide-eyed Kiir, who was visibly astonished by the astounding destructive yield of the missiles, "The rest is up to you."

As the transmission ended, Kiir turned to gawk at Eliir, who was ready with an answer of her own.

"Sensor analysis indicates that was a massive matter-antimatter reaction," Eliir explained as she tried to keep the amazement out of her voice, "In other words, those were antimatter missiles."

"Looks like we may have a chance at beating them," Kiir commented as he signalled for Soban to shift into high gear.

"Affirmative," Soban replied, "All hands prepare for battle!"

The dreadnaught's drives screamed as the ship pushed forward through the vacuum of space, shooting down the Mythra strike craft that had managed to evade the initial Frerrn attack. At the same time, Vaygr, Frerrn, Taiidan and Hiigaran fighters rushed forward to meet the Mythra, decimating the few ships that even dared to approach the Alliance fleet.

Kiir kept his eyes on the main viewscreen, watching as the surviving Mythra capital ships moved into formation, smouldering from the blistering damage dealt to their hulls. And then a second salvo of antimatter missiles swarmed in and detonated, removing those ships from existence. A brighter and more powerful explosion in the rear signalled the complete and utter destruction of one of the Spheres.

Even before the explosions could die down completely, lances of light pierced through the enemy forces as the Vaygr brought their long range phased energy weapons to bear. The phased cannon blasts were quickly accompanied by the smaller beams of the T-MAT ion weapons, which swept through the Mythra fleet like a light show.

"Priority alert, the Agemo megalith is emerging into normal space," Eliir warned, putting an end to the momentarily optimistic mood of the bridge.

"Now the real battle begins," Kiir said as the massive vessel emerged into normal space,

"Powering up the distortion field," Yuno reported as she wrapped the Alliance fleet in _Koshiir Ra_'s protective bubble.

The first strike had been very successful, eliminating a third of the Mythra strike forces and even destroying two Spheres. But now the Spheres retreated to regroup around the Agemo megalith, reminding everyone that the battle had yet to be won.

Once again, the Frerrn took the initiative and fired off a pre-emptive salvo of antimatter missiles. As the warheads rocketed towards the megalith, the Agemo responded with their own array of weaponry. Lines of energy suddenly linked the vessel to the multitude of missiles that were approaching it, starting a chain reaction as each and every missile was prematurely detonated.

The missile attack had failed.

Before anyone could react, a few turrets on the megalith swivelled around and aimed at the gathered Alliance forces. Then seven mighty beams of shimmering light shot forward and slammed mercilessly into the _Koshiir Ra_'s distortion field. Ripples of refracting light moved away from the points of impact as the beams sustained themselves for a few seconds before dissipating.

"Kiir, we can't win this," Yuno spoke as she quickly assessed the situation, "That salvo alone shaved off thirty-five percent of the distortion field's power."

"Thirty-five?!" Kiir exclaimed in disbelief when he heard the news, "So we should retreat?"

"I was not suggesting a retreat, I was just stating that we're going to lose this," Yuno continued grimly, "The Grand Core is still not responding to any commands. With all these disruption fields around us, we have no way to escape."

"Sajuuk be damned," the loud curse escaped Kiir's lips.

"Since missiles have no effect, we ought to take the battle to them," Soban suggested, "If we can cover the Frerrn long enough for them to fire off their missiles at short range, then we might be able to score…"

And then a solemn atmosphere fell upon the bridge when the proximity alarms started going off, bringing their share of what was probably more bad news. All eyes turned to Eliir as she tapped furiously away at her console, trying to make sense of it all.

"The hell," Kiir swore again as the viewscreen suddenly showed innumerable quantum wavefronts opening up all around _Koshiir Ra_'s protective field. Slowly but steadily, the yellow wavefronts slid back to reveal…

"… Sensors count at least forty Keepers and two hundred Movers," Eliir spoke at last, "They are transmitting a repeating message. Translating…"

As the mechanical voice of the Keepers began speaking clearly across all the communications channels, a sense of dread filled the hearts and souls of all who were present. The Keepers' articulation was crisp and clear, each word and syllable piercing into those who had accompanied Karan to the Dreadnaught Berth.

"_The Keepers are aware."_

"_The Keepers understand."_

"_The Keepers have seen the Enemy."_

"Kharak forgive us," Kiir muttered in silent prayer as he closed his eyes and awaited the inevitable. Anytime now, the combined assault of the Keepers, the Mythra and the Agemo would tear through _Koshiir Ra_'s shield and collapse the _Eidolon_'s own distortion fields, bringing a swift death to everyone onboard.

"Open your damned eyes Kiir!" Soban yelled in a tone that was both irritated and full of wonder, startling the Sjet'sa out of his stupor, "Open them wide and look!"

Whereupon Kiir let the gaze of his eyes travel to the main viewscreen, his mind absorbing the new visual information the screen had to offer.

Two hundred Movers swarmed the Mythra formations, their combined firepower making short work of the badly-damaged Mythra capital ships. The Spheres retaliated with full force, firing off every single point defence weapon they possessed in an attempt to halt the Mover wave.

Meanwhile, the forty Keepers had swarmed right up to the massive megalith and released their complements of Drones. Kiir watched as ion beams and nanite beams lashed away at the Agemo ship while the Drones glided and manoeuvred smartly around the massive hull, supporting the Keeper attacks.

And then seven beams of light connected the megalith to seven of the Keepers, the attacks piercing through the machines' shields like they weren't even there. As the beams faded, only thirty-three Keepers remained.

Now the point defences of the megalith powered up, showering beams and bolts of pure energy on the mechanical attackers. One of the Keepers was flung away by the assault, its golden shield flickering weakly in its attempt to protect the ship's failing hull. Another had both its wings torn off when it failed to evade the deadly beams.

"Looks like even the Keepers can't last long against the Agemo," Kiir commented, "We should…"

Before Kiir could finish, the Vaygr and the T-MAT had fired off their phased energy weapons and ion cannons, ripping mercilessly away at the massive hull of the Agemo megalith. Even as the beams faded, more Frerrn missiles swarmed in and detonated around the megalith, scoring dozens of hits on the heavy armour.

"_Your procrastination is going to get us all killed!"_ Vanaar spoke harshly into Kiir's mind, _"Why are your forces still holding fire?"_

"Procrastination? I was about to give an order!" Kiir retorted in a feeble attempt to save his pride and defend himself.

"_Then DO IT!"_ Vanaar spat, sending telepathic shockwaves through Kiir's mental self and causing him to stagger momentarily. Soban was about to enquire about his health and well-being when he quickly raised a hand to signal that he was alright.

"Yuno, order the fleet to fire at will," Kiir spoke quickly, his voice slightly wobbly from the mental encounter.

The Hiigaran response, while slightly delayed, came in due time. Ion beams and mass drivers blazed away at the megalith, while cluster torpedoes separated to shower regions that were thick with Mythra strike craft. The Keepers seemed to sense that the Alliance was on their side and modified their attacks to suit the Alliance' tactics. Now the Progenitor ships would phase out whenever the Frerrn sent a wave of antimatter missiles, as well distract the megalith's point defences from shooting down the missiles.

The battle seemed to be going well until the megalith fired its main weapons once again, removing seven more Keepers from existence.

"The Grand Core is responding to commands again, " Yuno announced suddenly, "If we want to retreat, now is the time."

"_And just in time too," _Vanaar made his presence felt once again, _"The Frerrn are right – we cannot win this. We must retreat."_

"Retreat?" Kiir exclaimed in disbelief, "They will just keep coming, claiming the territories we retreat from until we have none left! We can't retreat!"

"_Then do you have suggestions on how we can win?"_ Vanaar asked sceptically, _"It doesn't take an expert to see that the Keepers will be gone in a minute or so."_

"Yuno, pull us all out to the Bridge of Sighs," Kiir suddenly barked, startling Yuno and everyone else, "And hurry!"

"_So you realised that point after all,"_ Vanaar commented in an unkind tone.

"Get the hell out of my mind, Vanaar," Kiir warned, getting ready to will a mindblast to Vanaar if the warlord didn't comply.

"_Fine, I will," _the warrior lord replied, _"But bear in mind that I do not tolerate incompetence in battle."_

And his mental presence vanished as quickly as they had entered hyperspace.

"So we're retreating after all," Soban said as he leaned back in his chair and stretched in relief, "What do we do now?"

The captain swivelled his chair around, only to see Kiir missing and the bridge doors sliding shut. He raised an eyebrow in disapproval and swivelled around to face his command console.

"What's wrong with him?" Soban asked.

Who knows? Yuno sighed.

* * *

**Onboard the _Sajuuk_:**

She could not believe the ship's sensors.

There should have been a mighty Scaffold orbiting the planet. There should have been an equally mighty Mothership proudly docked in high orbit. There should also have been a planet that, as hostile as its environment was, teemed with life and civilisation in the polar regions.

There was nothing.

All that remained of the Scaffold, and presumably the Mothership, were several large pieces of debris that were now in low decaying orbit. The ship's sensors detected no life signs anywhere in the wreckage.

As mixed emotions racked her thoughts, she used the powerful sensors to scan the planet, as if something could have possibly survived the cataclysm that had scorched Kharak. Where there were supposed to be the shining cities of Kharakian civilisation, there were only smoulders and glass from the melted sands.

"_No complex life signs detected,"_ the computer chirped emotionlessly.

There was no one left.

Everything was gone.

As the lone ship hung like a mourner over the planet, a young lady wept pained pearls of tears.


	16. Conflicts

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 15: CONFLICTS**

* * *

Kiir sat uncomfortably in his private room onboard the _Eidolon_, unwilling to believe how disastrously his first proper attempt to orchestrate a fleet battle had turned out. He switched on a viewscreen of the outside and stared at the streaks of quantum energy flying past rapidly, as if the view of hyperspace could somehow deafen the words that kept repeating in his mind.

"_Your procrastination is going to get us all killed!"_

Indeed – while the battle had ended with no casualties on the Alliance' side, it was only because the Keepers had been taking the brunt of the Agemo's attacks. Had there been no Keepers assisting them, his delayed response could have easily caused the loss of more lives, be they Hiigaran, Nalthoran, or even Vaygr. He understood Vanaar's reprimand: in battle, even a few seconds could mean the difference between victory or defeat.

A steady beep sounded from the tabletop console, rousing Kiir from his silent reflection. He peered at the screen and tapped a button, allowing Yuno's hologram to manifest itself inside the room.

"You're not quite yourself today," Yuno remarked as she walked over to the bunk and sat down, her weightless image causing no depression on the sheets, "Is anything the matter?"

"I screwed up today, didn't I," Kiir conceded, raising a palm to his face as he leant back in his chair, "I totally screwed things up."

"What do you mean?" Yuno asked, "You did pretty well, and the battle was perfectly synchronized except for that little moment…"

"…That moment when the entire Hiigaran fleet just sat back and watched the Agemo dish out damage," Kiir finished, "Vanaar was right. I could have gotten all of us killed."

"Where does Vanaar come into the picture? Besides, I still think you did rather well considering it was your first time."

"But in war, your first time could be your last," came the reply, "Vanaar's words really woke me up to that fact."

"What's with Vanaar anyway?" Yuno quickly asked with a puzzled tone in her voice, "You make it sound as though he were talking to you telepathically…"

"He was."

Yuno stared quizzically at Kiir for a few moments, trying to make sense of the warlord's intent to contact him mentally.

"Well, what did he do that for? I mean, it's not like he's the supreme commander of the Alliance or something…"

"Well, the fact remains that he was right," Kiir continued on, "But it's not like I even wanted to be a part of all this…"

"No one wants a war," Yuno said before quickly correcting her statement, "At least, no sane sentient being would want one for the sake of it. We all feel the same…"

Yuno let her voice trail off when she realized that Kiir was no longer listening, but just staring blankly at the aqua streaks of energy shooting past on the viewscreen. She considered a reprimand, but thought otherwise given his current mood and emotional state. Sighing, Yuno disappeared in a pillar of shimmering light, leaving Kiir to his thoughts.

* * *

The fleets exited hyperspace over Hiigara, the multitude of quantum wavefronts opening and closing as one. For the space engineers working in Hiigaran orbit, it was a magnificent sight to behold – hundreds upon hundreds of ships from the major powers in the Alliance were now gathering in perfect formations in space. Even more awesome, or perhaps terrifying, was the fact that these forces were not the true total of the entire Alliance, for the rest of the fleets were constrained by their duties to defend the homeworlds they hailed from. It was truly remarkable, considering that the Alliance itself had nearly been completely annihilated five years ago in the war against the Neo-Beast.

But for the merchant vessels emerging from hyperspace and heading for the spaceports, there was no place for sightseeing or awe. Word of the Agemo invasion had spread across the Inner Rim within minutes of the first engagement, and the news were now slowly seeping into the more isolated realms of the Outer Rim. No panic had broken out yet, though there was now a growing anxiety across the surviving worlds of the Inner Rim, worlds that were fortunate enough to have escaped infection by the Neo-Beast.

Hiigara itself had not been left untouched by the news, as such there was also a certain tension in the air. While many remained confident that the Hiigaran Navy would continue to ensure Hiigara's security, a growing number had nagging doubts. Some even went further to suggest that the End Time as prophesized by the Bentusi was now truly beginning, dismissing the Vaygr invasion as a mere precursor to the event.

Still, the Children of Hiigara continued to look upon the public viewscreens, admiring the gathered fleets that represented the Galaxy's last line of defence. Things in the Galaxy were grim now, but they simply followed the decades-old example of their ancestors, falling back on the one force that had kept them going despite the tragic loss of Kharak.

Hope…

* * *

**Onboard the _Sajuuk Khar_, high orbit over Hiigara:**

The conference room was silent as the gravity of the situation sank in. Just minutes after the fleets' arrival at Hiigara, sensor outposts throughout the Inner Rim had begun detecting a sudden spike in space time disruptions. While there had been no other attacks by the Mythra or the Agemo so far, it was believed that a proper assault would take place very soon.

"…And that is the latest update our intelligence data has to offer," Yuno finished as she concluded her report, "Do the rest of the delegates have any information they wish to add?"

"I have," Ecron declared as he connected his wrist communicator to a port and uploaded the data.

The room darkened automatically as the main viewscreen began playing a recorded video. It was a few seconds before the screen cleared up and displayed a Taiidan outpost's view of its attackers. A few audible gasps could be heard when the image came into focus, showing an Agemo megalith advancing casually towards the station. Then Taiidan interceptors and dual ion frigates swooped in from both sides, firing their weapons at the megalith. The megalith responded with a few blinding beams of light, completely vaporizing the frigates and the fighters. Thereafter, the image began to blur until interference made it impossible to discern anything.

"That was a transmission from one of the Taiidan Republic's frontier outposts," Ecron explained, "It came in just a minute after the start of this meeting. All contact has been lost and we can only assume that the outpost and the fleet stationed there have been destroyed."

The silence ended with a burst of conversation as the various commanders and delegates from the major Alliance powers began discussing the Agemo invasion excitedly. Kiir and Yuno regarded Ecron with grim faces while Talos tapped his beeping communicator to answer a call.

"The speed with which the Agemo were able to strike the Taiidan shows that they are in possession of drives with capabilities very much similar to that of Far Jumpers," Soban noted as he considered the possible defence strategies, "This means that they have the ability to strike us anywhere."

"You have a suggestion, Soban?" Kiir asked.

"Of course," came the reply, "Since the majority of the Alliance' ships are without far jumping capabilities, then we will have no choice but to select a single position to defend – preferably one with the greatest strategic value to the Alliance. Only by concentrating our forces at a single location will we stand a chance against that thing."

"Not necessarily," Vanaar pointed out at last, having been silent since the start of the meeting, "The Vaygr forces you see here in Hiigaran orbit are not all that we have to offer. This is merely the elite fleet – I still possess considerable reserve forces stationed on the perimeter of the Eastern Outer Rim. I believe that with our phased cannon weaponry, our forces will be more than sufficient to defend one of these locations, freeing up your forces to defend another position."

"That is a generous offer, and I thank you on behalf of the Alliance," Kiir said with surprise and a little fear. The thought that Vanaar still had such an armada behind him was certainly cause for some concern despite the alliance between them.

"Good. Now that we have factored the Vaygr into the equation, we will be able to pick another strategic point to defend," Soban continued, "However, we must pick these two locations carefully, for we can consider the rest of the undefended regions as lost…"

"I'm afraid that we will be unable to defend even one point," Talos interrupted suddenly with a tinge of sadness in his voice, "I have reason to believe that there is more than one megalith, and that the megalith that attacked the Taiidan was not the same megalith we fought against earlier."

All eyes in the room turned immediately to the Prime Minister of the Frerrn Aggregate. Talos merely shook his head sadly in the face of the shocked looks and left the explanations to the general.

"Our first conjecture was that the Agemo possessed incredibly efficient drives that allowed them to quickly attack the Taiidan after we retreated," General Xiedo began, "However, surely the drives cannot be efficient to the extent that, at almost the same time as the attack on the Taiidan, an attack was launched on one of our frontier bases as well."

"You mean…" Kiir started his question, despite already knowing the answer to it.

"The Agemo launched an attack on Frerrn space just a minute ago," Talos answered, "While we are still in contact with the defence fleets, tactical reports indicate that it is only a matter of time before the Agemo push through."

"Then as allies, we must provide immediate assistance!" Ecron exclaimed, standing up suddenly.

"Fret not, Admiral," Xiedo reassured, "Our homeworld remains quite safe for now – for we have several methods of slowing the Agemo down. Given those obstacles, we believe that the Agemo would rethink their options and attack elsewhere first."

"I think the Alliance would be very much interested in hearing about these, 'methods' that you possess," Kiir suggested, "Perhaps you could shed a little light on those, if it is to your agreement?"

"I can elaborate on the methods, but replicating them in such a short time would be impossible, assuming of course we could even get past the reverse-engineering stage," Talos answered as he connected a data drive to the port on his side of the table.

Once again, the viewscreen flickered as the computers processed the new data. Within moments, everyone in the room found themselves staring at a battlecruiser-sized artifact drifting in space, surrounded by a small Frerrn Aggregate fleet. The design philosophy was unmistakable.

"…That is one hundred percent Progenitor," Kiir exclaimed with awe in his voice.

"You mean there're still Progenitor ships out there?" Ecron asked in excitement.

"Apparently so, and in great numbers too," Talos replied, "That device you see there is a Progenitor faster-than-light inhibitor, and it is capable of halting Agemo and Mythra timespace drive transit. There are about dozen more of these devices distributed through our space, and together they form a massive maze through which the Agemo could navigate only after completing a few dozen jumps, assuming of course they knew the exact path through the maze."

"They don't have any effect on hyperspace travel, but that is irrelevant since the Agemo and the Mythra do not use hyperspace technology," Xiedo added, "Even if they did, we have a network of inhibitors protecting our homeworld, so we are perfectly safe in the short run."

"For how long have those devices been around?" a Nalthoran general asked curiously, "Have you been keeping those a secret since the Homeworld War?"

"Actually, the devices simply appeared out of nowhere," Talos answered, "Not long after we received the Progenitor-based transmission which we assumed was from Sajuuk himself, the devices simply phased into existence and started generating those inhibitor fields. It was only recently that our scientists actually found out the true purpose of the inhibitor fields."

Once again, the room begun to buzz with excitement upon hearing that the Frerrn had received a message from The Great Maker Himself. Question after question was thrown at Talos, who quickly raised both his hands to calm everyone down.

"I apologise for not informing you about this in due time," Talos spoke quickly, "So far, I have only had the time to explain things to Admiral Ecron of the Taiidan Republic. However, he will not remain the only one with this knowledge. One of my assistants will pass to each of your delegations a copy of the necessary data later on."

"It would certainly be appreciated," Kiir said as he finally understood the mysterious origins of the Frerrn's antimatter and energy shield technology.

"We should return to the matter of defence, Minister Talos," Vanaar spoke slowly in an annoyed tone, "Since there is more than one megalith like you say, what suggestions do you have?"

The conference room fell silent once again as Vanaar's voice echoed strongly through the place. The warlord was clearly annoyed by the sidetracking from the agenda, and his words to the Frerrn delegation seemed more like a threat than a question. Nonetheless, Talos retained an air of calm about him as he answered Vanaar.

"Indeed, I do apologise for throwing this discussion off course," Talos spoke calmly, "What we suggest is a retreat from any Agemo encounter until we find a weakness. Only then can we strike back in full force and wrest victory from the Agemo and the Mythra."

"Until we find a weakness?" Vanaar cocked one eyebrow doubtfully at Talos.

"It is always a wise choice to know the enemy well before going into battle with the enemy," Talos smiled, "I thought that was universal military doctrine?"

"Indeed, of course I understand. So all we have to do is wait until, perhaps, we have lost half the Galaxy to the Agemo?" Vanaar asked, every one of his words stabbing with sharp sarcasm, "You speak of nothing but theory, my dear sir. Yes, indeed such military wisdom exists, but not in the imminent wake of a Galactic cataclysm."

"So you would have us go against the Agemo now and die trying?" Talos countered yet retaining his calmness, "What you speak of is completely illogical, even by theoretical standards."

"I do not suggest a head-on attack of course," Vanaar replied, his voice clearly sounding his dislike for the Frerrn minister, "But given the proven effectiveness of phased cannon weaponry, you can see that we already know of their weakness."

"Only the Vaygr forces are outfitted with phased energy weapons, so an attack using those weapons alone would be completely unwise," Talos disagreed, "Furthermore, while I agree that phased energy weapons possess incredible power, our combat data says…"

"You know nothing," Vanaar declared, his tone now a completely menacing one.

"Oh, then perhaps I will have the Hiigarans corroborate our findings then," Talos suggested calmly, turning to Kiir, "Kiir Sjet, I believe your people, having possessed _Sajuuk_ and the _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_ for some time, would be able to confirm our data."

"Erm…" Kiir began nervously, having been dragged into this verbal war against his will. He quickly considered the variables in his mind and arranged an answer, "Well, our research and analysis would not differ from whatever data you have to offer, with the only exception being when our matriarch, Karan Sjet, fired the _Sajuuk_'s cannon array against the _Qwaar Jet_. In that firing, power output reached never-before-seen levels."

"But it is an exception, an anomalous reading?" Talos asked, appealing to the scientist in Kiir.

"…Well, if you must consider the statistics, then yes," Kiir answered, stealing a glance every now and then at Vanaar, who looked positively incensed, "Furthermore, it must be added that after the firing, the _Sajuuk_'s cannon suffered extensive damage."

"Thank you," Talos spoke in a satisfied tone as he turned to face Vanaar, who regarded him with a cold and piercing Vaygr stare, "Do you have anything else to say, Supreme Commander?"

"Even if I had, it would not be for your ears," Vanaar concluded as he rose along with the rest of the Vaygr delegation and walked abruptly out of the room.

While the rest of the delegates looked on with surprise, Talos merely shrugged his shoulders and turned to Kiir.

"Perhaps you should reconsider your alliance with the Vaygr," Talos stated flatly as he stood up and left the room with General Xiedo.

* * *

It was decided that the meeting be adjourned due to the absence of representation from two of the major powers. As such, Kiir left the conference room along with the rest of the delegates. The recent events had been particularly exhausting, and his eyes and limbs now screamed for a long uninterrupted rest. As he neared his room, the yearning for slumber became almost unbearable. Unfortunately, his mind had other ideas.

"_I suspect something amiss,"_ Vanaar's mental voice suddenly made its presence felt in his mind again, _"If you will open a secure transmission to my communicator, I will explain everything."_

"Isn't this the most 'secure' way?" Kiir asked mentally.

"_Hmm? This is most surprising – I thought you were one who was vehemently opposed to this form of communication."_

"If it's urgent, I guess it doesn't matter…" Kiir replied, sighing at the same time that his rest would have to wait. He slipped into his room and engaged the electronic lock.

"_Very well – There is something wrong with the Frerrn minister,"_ Vanaar warned.

"Something wrong? In what way?" Kiir asked in return, "There was nothing wrong, I didn't even pick up any telepathic anomaly."

"_Apparently you haven't been paying close enough attention,"_ Vanaar replied in a dismissive tone, _"They should still be on the station – send security to arrest them at once."_

"But on what grounds?" Kiir asked with alarm at the warlord's sudden suggestion.

"_Perhaps I will forgive you on the grounds that you were paying close attention to the meeting,"_ came the slightly more forgiving reply, _"If you had concentrated harder, you would have noticed some... artificialities about Talos and his general."_

"Artificialities?"

"_Well, if you trust me on this, you will send in security, and make sure they're heavily armed as well,"_ Vanaar repeated, _"Will you do it?"_

"Well…"

And then the room's lighting gave way and was replaced with the ominous pulsating crimson of the red alert. Within moments, Yuno's hologram shimmered into objective being in the room.

"Apologies for interrupting whatever you were doing," Yuno quickly spoke, "We've gone to silent alert."

"What's going on?"

"There was a hacking attempt," Yuno said simply, "It's Mythra, or at least, the style of it is Mythra."

Kiir went pale when he heard the news – hacking was no joke, especially since the last break-in allowed the intruder to get away with the _Koshiir Ra_. He could almost feel the smug emotions of Vanaar's presence in his mind.

"_And I am proven right,"_ Vanaar commented smugly before fading away.

"Damn it," Kiir swore loudly, angry at himself for being the ignorant one yet again, "Was the break-in successful? Has it been traced?"

"Since we've upped security since last time, there was no critical breach," Yuno reassured, "However I was unable to track the break-in point…"

"Dispatch Security to Minister Talos' room," Kiir ordered urgently, "And hurry!"

"Pardon?"

"Make sure they're heavily armed, I mean it," Kiir continued, "The hell are you waiting for?"

"Kiir, are you sure you're feeling…"

"Just do what I say," Kiir said again, this time in a more annoyed tone, "I got a tip-off from Vanaar – just do it!"

"Very well," Yuno answered in a puzzled tone as she broadcast the message to the Security department. At the same time, she brought up a camera view facing the door to Talos' room.

"No cameras in the room?" Kiir asked in disbelief.

"It's a diplomatic room, so there aren't any," Yuno explained, still confused over Kiir's orders, "Kiir, are you sure about this?"

"Remind them to be careful," he answered, completely ignoring her question, "Be very careful."

Yuno nodded and focused her attention on managing the security teams that were now gathering outside the room. Kiir watched the camera view and saw the marines now positioned and at the ready as a technician deactivated the lock. Then the doors slid open and the marines rushed in. Yells and protests could be heard over the camera's microphone as the marines walked out mere moments after they had barged in, the prime minister and the Frerrn general with their hands on their heads.

"I really hope you're right about this Kiir," Yuno commented nervously as she saw the marines violate every Hiigaran diplomatic law.

Kiir didn't answer – he had already grabbed a plasma pistol and was running down the corridor to where the duo were being held in custody.

"By Sajuuk, I hope you're right about this one Vanaar," Kiir thought mentally, hoping Vanaar would hear him.

"_Convenient that you have brought a pistol with you,"_ Vanaar commented, indicating that he had heard him, _"If you really want proof, I want you to shoot Talos."_

"What?!" Kiir almost mindblasted Vanaar.

"_It's the only way to confirm it, but you must be cautious," _Vanaar warned before disconnecting from Kiir's mind again.

"This is an outrage!" Talos was exclaiming loudly, "I demand to see Kiir Sjet immediately!"

"And here I am," Kiir responded, coming round the corner and walking up to Talos.

"Good. I hope you were not behind this debacle, because if you were…" Talos began.

And Kiir shot him.

* * *

**Onboard the _Sajuuk_:**

She could not bear the sight of a barren desert world devoid of all Kushan life, so she had fled into hyperspace using random set of galactic coordinates. Anywhere, she decided, anywhere was better than here.

Even as the ship emerged from hyperspace at its destination, Karan continued to weep. She was probably the only one alive now. Everyone, her home, her family, her Kiith, her people, even the Mothership that brought such great hope… everything was gone now.

She was all alone in the vast void.

"_Greetings."_

The sudden communication jolted her to her senses. Confused and slightly disoriented by the sudden re-exposure to the ship's sensors, Karan vaguely made out the silhouette of a massive vessel sitting in the distance.

This was something alien, some form of intelligent life that Kharakian scientists had proposed existed outside the Kharak system. She should be feeling fear, fear at the unknown, but she was empty now. Seeing the dead world of Kharak had drained her emotionally.

"_You are lost."_

The three words echoed crisply and clearly in her tortured mind, bringing a sense of warmth to her shattered soul. Was this compassion, perhaps sympathy from an extraterrestrial race? Could it be that she was not really alone in this vast void?

"_You have suffered."_

Again, three words that described perfectly the anguish she had felt within her when she scanned the dead world. Mixed emotions began rising within her – sorrow, gratitude, even anger at whoever was responsible for the heinous deed of genocide.

"_Come with us."_

"… What?" She finally managed to voice after regaining partial control of her emotions.

"_Come with us, and perhaps you will find the peace you seek."_

"… But I have nothing left now… Nothing…"

"_You know that such a deed cannot go unpunished."_

"… Yes, but what can I do? I am helpless, insignificant…"

"_Your ship is not."_

It was then that Karan remembered the ship that she was in control of. Up till now, she had only explored a mere fraction of the ship's systems. Gathering herself mentally, she attempted to discover for herself what truly lay beneath.

And she suddenly withdrew, awed and alarmed at the same time by the very fact that such a warship even existed in the first place.

"… This ship… its power…"

"_We will teach you how to use it."_

"… But… I cannot possibly…"

"_Indeed – this is a great power you possess, yet it cannot compare with the force that murdered your people."_

"…"

"_Come with us, and perhaps you can make sure that your people did not perish in vain."_

She felt tugged in many directions. On one hand, she had no wish to unleash the raw power of this ship, and be no different from the cruel ones who had destroyed Kharak. Yet, in the deepest recesses of her mind, something nagged at her to avenge the people of Kharak. The very thought frightened her, yet the more she considered the possibility, the more tempting it became.

"_Come with us. See that this does not go unpunished."_

The megalith remained silently in space, waiting for a response.

And a response it did receive.

The mighty Progenitor super dreadnaught, the Great Maker _Sajuuk_, began to move. Thrusters started firing from various locations on the ship's hull, aligning the vessel in its intended direction of travel.

And then the main drives roared into life, pushing the mighty ship towards the megalith.


	17. Defeat

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 16: DEFEAT**

* * *

"Cloaking fields at maximum power," an officer reported as he stared distractedly at the main viewscreen.

"Are you sure it's not a sensor malfunction?" Tora asked as he tried to understand what was going on.

"There's no doubt about it – they're all Vaygr," Syne muttered as he continued his scans of the fleet arrayed before them.

The numbers indicated there were at around two or three Crusades' worth of ships, but the hull colours told a different story. Either their initial estimate of a Crusade's power was wrong, or the Crusades had been taking steroids for the past few years.

"Our forces are roughly equal in number to theirs," Syne continued as he went through the options, "Combined with our stealth advantage, we should be able to win in a straight fight, which should of course be reserved as our last resort."

"Very well, open a channel to the Vaygr immediately," Tora ordered, trying to keep himself calm in the face of such an armada. When Syne looked at him and nodded, Tora took a deep breath and spoke.

"This is General Tora of the Tobari, we come in peace," Tora began as the _Ascension_'s communications array began broadcasting his message to the gathered Vaygr forces, "We are here regarding the matter of some hostile activity against our merchant vessels."

And he stopped to wait for a response. Looking at the main viewscreen, the Vaygr forces remained where they were, unperturbed by their communication attempt. Tora let a few seconds pass before trying again.

"I repeat, this is General Tora of the Tobari, we come in peace, I say again, we come in peace," Tora said once more, taking care to place additional emphasis on the word 'peace,' "We have reason to suspect that your forces were involved in the destruction of our merchant vessels, and…"

"Bad news, sensors are picking up multiple hyperspace signatures inbound on our position," Syne reported suddenly with a tinge of disappointment in his voice, "They're all Vaygr."

"Fleet, go to full alert," Tora ordered as he braced for the inevitable, "Attention Vaygr fleet, we may have come in peace, but if your intentions are hostile…"

"Vaygr forces emerging from hyperspace," Syne stated flatly as his hopes for a peaceful settlement were dashed, "Sensors are counting a full Crusade."

"By the Emerald Star, Vaygr fleet, if you undertake any hostile action, we will not hesitate to retaliate!" Tora declared angrily.

"Sir, the Vaygr forces that have just jumped in are hailing us," an officer yelled from his console, "Patching them through."

"Good, finally we have a response," Tora muttered as the stern steely face of a Vaygr commander appeared on the screen.

"Tobari fleet, this is the Black Crusade," the commander spoke quickly, the flashing lights around him indicating a red alert status, "Pull back from that Crusade immediately – those are not ours!"

"What do you mean they're not yours?" Tora asked in return.

Suddenly, the Black Crusade opened fire on the violet-coloured Crusade. Battlecruisers were impaled by the brilliant beams of the phased energy cannons, while destroyers shattered under volleys of heavy missile fire.

"Heavens, we've jumped right into a civil war!" Syne exclaimed as he saw the Violet Crusade struggle to respond.

"All ships, gather into a defensive formation around the flagship," Tora quickly ordered as he considered the options currently open to them, "Do not fire unless fired upon."

"Sir, some of the ships are changing shape," one of the officers suddenly announced, pointing to the besieged Crusade.

"Changing shape?" Tora asked as he glanced at the area pointed at by the officer.

And then the Violet Crusade, having brought its turrets and weapons to bear on the Black Crusade, started fighting back. Another rain of firepower issued from the Vaygr vessels, promptly transforming the view into a big mess of fighting.

"Maximum zoom to that area," Tora ordered as he strained his eyes at the viewscreen. The image magnified, becoming clearer as the visual scanners focused on the region and tried to compensate for the neighbouring explosions.

And there was a Mythra frigate, its durable metallic hull glistening in the lights of death.

"What the hell is that doing out here?" Tora exclaimed as he watched the continuing fire fight between the two Crusades.

"It would appear that the Vaygr have not been spared the subversive methods of the Mythra," Syne observed, "If that is the case, it would be wise of us to assist the Black Crusade."

"Then we will provide whatever assistance we can," Tora declared as he opened a fleet-wide channel, "All Tobari forces – assist the Black Crusade immediately. The Mythra cannot be allowed to escape!"

* * *

Talos regarded the small cockpit silently as the freighter moved stealthily away on conventional drives. Xiedo was in the chair beside him, but still unconscious from the sharp blow he had received earlier.

"It is intriguing that your masters would stoop to using such methods," Talos spoke coolly to the pilot in front, "This seems somewhat primitive compared with your technological advances."

"I'm afraid that the end always justifies the means," the pilot replied calmly, his attention focused on keeping the ship on the most inconspicuous course possible, "It is a key element of our programming, and it is what has allowed us to conquer numerous realms."

"Perhaps," Talos conceded, "But you are now faced with this little galaxy of ours, which I suppose is proving far more challenging to 'modify' as compared with others."

"Difficulties range from galaxy to galaxy, depending on the technological advancements of the reigning empire," the pilot replied in an almost casual tone, "But the outcome has always been the same."

"Of course, it must've been an easy task for you to dive in and 'modify' those galaxies, but you must remember that our realm has one factor which the others lacked."

"If you are referring to your divine God Sajuuk, then I'm afraid to inform you that he has been dead for eons," the pilot responded.

"Then why abduct the leader of the Frerrn Aggregate, a force that uses Progenitor technology?" Talos was smiling now, "I presume this is not an invitation to some special occasion of sorts."

"The will of our masters is absolute, your presence is necessary merely for the confirmation of certain… matters," the pilot spoke emotionlessly, "Now, would you mind keeping your peace for the remainder of the journey, or perhaps you'd like some 'assistance' with keeping silent?"

"I am perfectly agreeable with silence," Talos answered calmly as he took the hint and ceased his questioning.

Talos looked around once more, considering his options of escape for a few moments before resigning himself to his fate. There was no way he could possibly overcome an undamaged Mythra android with mere fists. Perhaps that was why the android had not bothered to restrain him – there was no logical need for it to do so.

The prime minister sighed and glanced through the hardened shell of the cockpit, watching as the _Sajuuk Khar_ continued to shrink with distance.

* * *

**Onboard the _Sajuuk Khar_:**

When Kiir pulled the trigger, dozens of thoughts ran through his mind. What he was about to commit was an act that would almost certainly doom all diplomatic relations with the Frerrn Aggregate, that is, if Vanaar was wrong.

What if that were indeed the case?

What if the Mythra had evaded their efforts once again, framing the Frerrn for their hacking deed?

The bolt of high energy plasma sizzled through the artificial atmosphere of the corridor and whacked Talos squarely in the chest.

Everyone stared in shock as Talos shimmered away and was replaced by the cold metallic figure of a Mythra android. For Kiir, relief flooded his mind.

"Damn you Hiigarans," the android mouthed, displeased that its hologram had been disabled by the shot.

And then General Xiedo rushed forward and slammed into Kiir, knocking the pistol out of his hand. The stunned marines quickly opened fire, pummelling both impostors with every energy weapon in their arsenal. Xiedo crashed against the wall, his holographic image shimmering and failing as shot after shot pumped into him. Seconds later, the android slumped to the floor, smoking and sparking like his partner in crime.

"Good heavens," Yuno managed to say as she shimmered into objective being in the corridor, "Kiir, are you alright?"

"I'm alive," Kiir muttered as he wiped his bloodied nose, "Yuno, we need to find out where Talos and Xiedo really are. Check all the hangar records for any anomalies now."

"At once, " Yuno replied as she closed her eyes in concentration, opening them again a few seconds later, "Kiir, a freighter left just some minutes ago, but heading instead for nowhere in particular."

"Get every marine frigate in range to pursue and board that freighter," Kiir ordered, "Talos and Xiedo are probably on it."

Suddenly, the crimson emergency lights started flashing as the shipyard shifted into red alert. Kiir nearly swore at the coincidental timing.

"Sensors have detected a trans-dimensional aperture opening in high orbit," Yuno updated, "Energy levels indicate it's probably a Mythra Sphere. The freighter has also changed course and is heading for the portal."

"We can't let them escape like this!" Kiir exclaimed, "Yuno, contact Soban immediately – he should be back onboard the _Eidolon_ by now."

"Affirmative, contacting Soban now…" Yuno responded as she closed her eyes in concentration.

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_:**

The dreadnaught soared out of the _Sajuuk Khar_'s massive docking bays, heading straight for the massive space time disturbance that was quickly developing in Hiigaran orbit. All around the _Eidolon_ and the _Sajuuk Khar_, Alliance forces were quickly scrambling to respond to the sudden Mythra threat.

"The portal has opened completely, we can expect the Sphere to come through anytime now," Eliir reported.

"Remember that our objective is not the Sphere but the stolen freighter," Soban spoke as he saw the portal shimmer and release the Mythra vessel into normal space, "Eliir, status of the freighter?"

"The freighter is closing in on the Sphere, but it doesn't seem to be commencing any docking procedures," Eliir replied in a slightly puzzled tone.

"Then let's bring her in – ready the tractor beams!" Soban announced as the rest of the bridge made the necessary preparations.

"Captain, the Sphere has raised a hyperspace disruption field," Eliir suddenly reported, "It is halting all hyperspace activity around Hiigara."

"But we still have our hyperphase drive," Soban smiled, "Sora, hyperspeed now!"

Soban felt a slight shiver as the hyperphase drive kicked in for a moment, hurling the dreadnaught towards the freighter. Even as the _Eidolon_ decelerated to normal speeds, energy bolts began coming in from all directions, exploding and dissipating against the primary distortion field.

"We are taking fire," Aalcor announced, "Primary shields are holding at ninety-four percent. Should we retaliate?"

"Hold fire, our main objective is the freighter," Soban responded, "Sora, get us within tractor range."

"Sir, the Sphere is launching a heavy cruiser," Eliir pointed out as part of the Sphere's hull opened up and spat out a sizeable capital ship, "It's heading towards the freighter!"

"Disable that cruiser immediately," Soban ordered calmly.

A hailstorm of blue energy released from the _Eidolon_ as the turbopulsars and ion cannons turned to target the capital ship. The cruiser exploded several seconds later, its reactor containment unable to withstand the full force of the dreadnaught's energy weapons. The freighter seemed to sense the danger and leapt forward as its engines kicked into higher gear. However, the dreadnaught continued to close the distance between itself and the freighter in spite of the mighty hail of firepower showering its shields.

"Primary shields down to sixty-six percent," Aalcor updated, "Fifteen seconds before we're in tractor range."

"Thank Sajuuk we had those field generators recalibrated," Soban muttered, "Eliir, any updates?"

"The Sphere is launching more of those cruisers, I count eleven of them," Eliir replied as she studied the scanner readouts on her console, "Four are heading for the freighter, while the remaining seven are moving to intercept us."

"Sir, in normal circumstances we could deal with those cruisers without too much difficulty. However, with the Sphere maintaining fire on us, it is possible that the cruisers will be able to cause considerable damage before we can neutralise them in time," Aalcor commented as he analysed their odds of success.

"But we'll still be in good enough shape to pursue and bring the freighter in?" Soban asked.

"Yes, we would. However, it is possible that we may suffer some casualties," Aalcor warned.

"Well, this is war, a loss of life is inevitable at times, "Soban sighed, hoping that they wouldn't have to lose anyone, "Divert all non-essential power to shields, and shoot them all down."

Nodding calmly, Aalcor turned to his console and keyed in the commands, shutting down unused systems and diverting the excess power to the shield generators. Sora grasped the flight controls more tightly and focused his utmost attention on the viewscreen while Eliir stared nervously at the sensor updates. Taruur switched on the intercom and looked at Soban, who responded with a slight nod.

"This is the bridge to all personnel onboard the _Eidolon_," Taruur began after he had taken a deep breath, "We will be upgrading from Red to Alpha alert within the minute. Please proceed to the nearest designated safe zones and prepare for lockdown. That is all."

The intercom was switched off and the First Officer turned his eyes to the main viewscreen. This was something he had dreamed about in his childhood fantasies – to fly a lone ship into a swarm of enemy vessels with all weapons blazing. It had seemed exciting to him then, but as the cruisers came closer and closer, a feeling of dread began to grip him tightly.

"Primary shields at fifty-eight percent and holding," Aalcor spoke in an emotionless voice, as if the imminent battle was having no effect on him.

"Cruisers entering firing range in five seconds," Eliir added, her anxiety easily identifiable in her voice.

"Taruur, initiate lockdown," Soban ordered at last, "Aalcor, fire at will!"

* * *

"Observe," the pilot said to Talos as he brought up a rear view of the battle unfolding behind the freighter.

"But why?" Talos asked as he complied reluctantly.

"Perhaps you'd like to see how hard they are trying to rescue you," the pilot seemed to smirk, if an android was indeed capable of that expression.

Talos watched as no fewer than seven Mythra heavy cruisers lunged at the besieged Hiigaran dreadnaught like predators moving in for the kill. For a brief moment, a spectacular display of turbopulsar and ion fire connected the ship with the nearest cruiser, which began to crumble under the onslaught. At the same time, the remaining twelve cruisers fired their weapons at the _Eidolon_, the devastating bolts of energy halting at the outskirts of the ship's translucent distortion field.

The _Eidolon_ fought back, releasing a salvo of sixteen fusion torpedoes which slammed into two of the attacking cruisers, crippling one and destroying the other. Yet the unrelenting fire from the Sphere and the remaining cruisers continued, pummelling the distortion field which was now flickering wildly under the assault. Some time later, the flickering ceased and was replaced by a flaring yellow light – an indication that the _Eidolon_'s primary field had failed.

Yet the dreadnaught persevered, pumping numerous turbopulsar and ion shots into the Mythra cruisers, which had now flanked the _Eidolon_ and were doing all they could to bring down that final wall of protection. Another fireball signalled the end of the fourth cruiser, while smaller explosions rocked the remaining three attackers.

With each hit, the yellow flare grew dimmer and dimmer as the energy shields lost power. Eventually, the flare became so dim that Talos could scarcely see the shields amidst the explosions of the Mythra firepower. By then, only one badly-damaged cruiser remained. But before the _Eidolon_ could finish it off, the cruiser's engines flared up and drove the vessel headfirst into the dreadnaught. A brilliant explosion followed, collapsing the remnants of the energy shields and blowing off portions of the _Eidolon_'s outer hull armour.

"Impressive, I must say, that they managed to fend off seven of our cruisers," the pilot commented, "But I doubt they will last long against the Sphere without shields."

Talos ignored the pilot, continuing to stare at the screen before him. The _Eidolon_ was now taking damage from the energy attacks of the Sphere. While the reinforced armour of the dreadnaught was perhaps the strongest and sturdiest allowed by Hiigaran sciences, it was still no match for continued pummelling by the Sphere. Plates of armour were ripped to pieces by the rain of pure energy and the once-pristine hull was now blistered and wounded in many places.

A shudder reverberated suddenly through the freighter. Looking around, Talos saw that the freighter was now surrounded by a beam of soft white light emanating from a Mythra cruiser. Turning his attention back to the rear view, he watched helplessly as three additional cruisers broke off from tailing the freighter and headed for the smouldering _Eidolon_ instead.

Another series of vibrations gripped the tiny vessel as the cruiser began to bend and distort the fabric of space around it. Then the view of Hiigara, the Sphere, and the _Eidolon_ disappeared as the cruiser transcended light speed.

* * *

**Onboard the _Eidolon_:**

"Outer hull integrity at seventy percent, turbopulsars two, five and six offline," Aalcor reported calmly despite the situation they were now in.

"Sections B3, C6 and E7 are venting to space," Taruur yelled from his console, cursing whenever it sparked from the power fluctuations.

"Damage control people!" Soban hollered as he tried to concentrate amidst the smoke on the bridge, "Idus, we need those shields back online now!"

"Engineering's a major mess back here, we need more time!" came the desperate-sounding voice of the chief engineer.

"The longer those shields stay offline, the more of a mess it's going to be down there!" Soban yelled back.

The bridge dropped a few metres and the lights dimmed as the dreadnaught took another direct hit. Pained yelps could be heard as more consoles began overloading from the surges coursing through the systems.

"Captain! Three more heavy cruisers heading in our direction!" Eliir cried suddenly when she saw the sensor alert.

"Aalcor, fire everything we've got, we have to take them out before they hit us!" Soban shouted.

The _Eidolon_ shook as another salvo of fusion torpedoes was released. The warheads shot forward and struck the cruisers, illuminating the space before them with blinding bursts of light. Aalcor followed through immediately with several rounds of turbopulsars, finishing off the one cruiser that had survived the torpedoes.

"Sir, the freighter's been caught in a cruiser's tractor beam," Eliir reported, "Picking up space time distortions around the cruiser, I think it's going to…"

Another blast struck the _Eidolon_'s thinning armour, sending everyone reeling. A few small explosions ripped through the bridge and a shrill shriek pierced the air.

"What the hell's going on?" Soban bellowed as he struggled to get to his feet, "Eliir, what's the status of the freighter?"

When he got no answer, Soban turned around and saw the blackened remains of the sensors console. Eliir was sprawled on the floor, her face bloodied and burned beyond recognition. He rushed to the unconscious officer and heaved her up onto his shoulders.

"We're through with this! Sora, retreat at maximum speed!" Soban ordered as he rushed the injured officer to the infirmary.

* * *

**Onboard the _Sajuuk Khar_:**

Kiir clenched his fist and watched as the wounded dreadnaught jumped away to a safe distance. The rest of the Alliance forces, deprived of hyperspace capability by the Sphere's disruption field, were still barely halfway there on conventional drives.

"_Fool."_

The familiar voice echoed in his mind once again.

"_You actually sent a single ship up against the Sphere, without any backup!"_ Vanaar exclaimed, his voice clearly filled with disdain.

"The Prime Minister and the Frerrn General's lives were at stake dammit!" Kiir shot back, "The Frerrn are probably one of the greatest partners the Alliance could possibly have!"

"_Excuses,"_ Vanaar spoke in a dismissive tone, _"That is no excuse for sending in a ship as valuable as the _Eidolon_ without backup. While I have no doubt that the dreadnaught is of excellent design, it is not a god ship! Kiir, it was not like you were sending in the _Koshiir Ra_ or something!"_

"What about you? They've already escaped with Talos, but your forces are still far from reaching the Sphere!" Kiir retorted, "At least I made the attempt to rescue them!"

"_If an attempt will surely end in failure, then one should not even make the attempt at all,"_ Vanaar answered coldly, _"In war, there are no second chances, especially if you are fighting against a technologically-superior opponent! Kiir Sjet, if you do not do something about the way you are leading this 'Alliance,' then I will withdraw the backing of the Vaygr forces."_

"Was that a threat?" Kiir asked in a hostile tone, slightly incredulous that Vanaar would even suggest such a thing.

"_Yes, it is a threat,"_ Vanaar confirmed without emotion, _"Because if you will lead the Alliance like how you have been leading recently, then I would rather lead the Vaygr in personally to exterminate the Mythra and the Agemo."_

"You will be destroyed if you undertake such a crusade by yourself," Kiir countered in a feeble attempt to defend himself.

"_Better to be destroyed by the enemy than by incompetence."_

And the mental link ended.

Kiir looked up bitterly, watching as the Alliance continued to advance towards the distant Sphere.


	18. Encounter

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 17: ENCOUNTER**

* * *

Eefrit stared aimlessly at the screen before him, watching the various dots and blips of the hostile contacts in front of the Gate. There were no more Spheres left – they had all left with the seven megaliths. However, a sizeable force of heavy cruisers, destroyers and frigates had been left behind in defence of the Gate.

There was no way for a lone carrier like the _Veer Rak II_ to escape. Indeed, even a battlecruiser might have trouble in doing so.

Suddenly, a series of blips appeared on the screen as the console began to beep incessantly. The Hiigaran admiral roused himself and glanced at the new data streaming in. His eyes widened momentarily before his gaze darted to the visual on the main screen.

The Explorer IV class command ships _Kuun Lan II_ and _Eheb San_ had emerged from hyperspace with their fleets. As the Mythra forces scrambled to engage, two glittering balls of plasma spiraled through space and detonated, briefly illuminating the Gate as the shockwaves pummeled and destroyed the frailer ships. The cruisers and destroyers that survived were quickly pounced upon by the Somtaaw capital ships and strike craft.

"… _Kuun Lan II_ to _Veer Rak II_," come in please… the speakers on the communications console began to crackle with a familiar voice.

"This is Admiral Eefrit," Eefrit answered quickly, scarcely believing their luck, "We are receiving you loud and clear."

"… Admiral Eefrit? Thank the Maker you're all still alive!" the voice exclaimed, "This is Commander Inya of the _Kuun Lan II_, you're now in safe hands."

* * *

The _Ascension_ shook slightly as a trinity cannon salvo narrowly grazed its side. Moments later, the source of the offending shot was identified and neutralized by several well-placed gravity shots. The battlecruiser shattered, the interference from the explosion causing the nearby Tobari cloaks to shimmer briefly.

The Violet Crusade was now crumbling under an attack from two fronts – the Tobari and the Black Crusade. As the relentless rain of firepower continued, more and more Mythra frigates began to drop their holograms and explode, revealing the true extent of the doppelganger attempts.

"Our forces have gained the upper hand," Syne noted, "It also appears that all the Mythra ships have dropped their disguises."

"How many are there exactly?" Tora asked as he watched the enemy ships falter.

"Eight, of which three are going critical," Syne replied, "They are all frigate class ships."

"All ships, focus fire on the Mythra frigates," Tora quickly broadcast to the fleet, "They cannot be allowed to escape."

A series of acknowledgements buzzed from the channels as the captains and group leaders carried out the commands. Gravity pulses and mass drivers erupted and converged on the remaining frigates, causing their perfect hulls to dent inwards and rupture. The Black Crusade followed suit, blowing a frigate with a trinity shot and crippling three others with fusion missiles.

As the last of the Mythra died, a strange silence fell over the rest of the Violet Crusade. Destroyers, battlecruisers and frigates all powered down their weapons and began to drift. Both fleets stopped their attacks, seeing no sense in the destruction of such valuable warships.

"It seems reasonable to suggest that the Mythra ships were operating the stolen ships remotely," Syne notted curiously, "Once the Mythra were destroyed, the stolen vessels ceased to operate as well."

"Well then, at least it'll allow the Vaygr to recover from some of their losses," Tora muttered as he opened communications with the Black Crusade, "Vaygr forces, it would appear that we have wronged you. On behalf of the Tobari, I would like to apologise for our paranoia."

"Apology accepted," the gruff Vaygr voice replied, "However, we require your immediate assistance on an important matter."

"Sir, the Vaygr are attempting to transmit something into our databanks," Syne suddenly spoke, "Should we accept?"

"Let's see what they have to say first," Tora replied before returning his attention to the conversation, "What would you have us do, commander?"

"We need you to ferry this vital information to Hiigara. It must reach our Vaygr Khar safely," the commander replied.

"You could have done it just as easily with long range encrypted transmissions you know," Tora reminded.

"Unfortunately, the information is extremely important, and we cannot risk it falling into enemy hands," the commander spoke, this time with impatience in his voice, "Please open your databanks at once – we do not have much time."

"I apologise for being suspicious, but how will I know that it's not some subversive virus you're beaming over?" Tora asked cautiously.

"General, If you do not open your databanks at this instant then you will not be able to leave before the enemy arrives," the commander replied, the impatience clearly growing in his voice, "Are you willing to take responsibility for the security of the entire Galaxy?"

"Very well then, but if there is any trickery afoot, we will not hesitate to inform the Alliance," Tora said as he signaled to Syne to accept the transmission. Several seconds later, Syne nodded to indicate that the transmission had been completed without a hitch.

"Thank you for your cooperation, General," the commander spoke coldly, "Now go!"

"Initiate hyperspace, maximum range jumps until we reach Hiigara," Tora ordered as he closed the channel, "Syne, what the hell did they send us?"

"Unknown, I'm afraid," came the reply, "It's heavily encrypted, and it's programmed to self-delete at any probing attempts. Whatever it is, the Vaygr are quite keen on protecting it well."

"Well then, keep it under max security quarantine until we reach Hiigara," Tora ordered as the stars on the viewscreen gave way to the aqua streaks of hyperspace.

* * *

By the time Kiir managed to interface with the _Koshiir Ra_, the freighter had already jumped beyond the Grand Core's range. Cursing his own stupidity, he slipped the _Koshiir Ra_ into hyperspace and emerged in close proximity with the Sphere fleet. The Mythra took immediate offence and started firing, only to have their shots dissipate harmlessly on the limits of the Guardian's distortion field.

Another thought sent power coursing through the Grand Core, pulling the rest of the Alliance fleet through hyperspace in a massively-powered wake jump. However, the Sphere and its fleet seemed unperturbed by the fact that they were being massively outnumbered. Instead, they continued to fire defensive shots with no real intent of a full assault.

"Weird," Kiir muttered to himself as he made sure to wrap the Alliance fleets in _Koshiir Ra_'s protective bubble. The last thing he wanted now was to get on Vanaar's bad side by forgetting to shield them all.

"_Yes, forgetting would certainly get you on my bad side, though I should think that 'bad' is too mild a word to use,"_ Vanaar's voice suddenly came in again.

"Quit probing my thoughts Vanaar," Kiir answered in a hostile tone, "Or I'll shove a distortion field up somewhere unpleasant."

"_My my, getting violent are we?"_ Vanaar spoke amusedly, _"You just keep your attention focused on shielding us."_

As Vanaar's presence faded away, Kiir decided to vent his anger on a few Mythra cruisers that had come a little too close. A bubble of space time distortion promptly appeared around the four cruisers, surprising the ships' AI for a while. Then a small star briefly replaced the cruisers as Kiir willed the field to shrink to the size of a fighter.

The Sphere's hull was now smouldering and scorched black in many places as the Alliance continued to fire away at every Mythra object in sight. Yet, the Sphere made no attempt to escape. It just continued to sit there and take it.

Then Kiir was alerted to an incoming hyperspace signature. He let his attention waver for a while as he tried to make out what it was. To his dismay, it was beyond even the marvelous sensor suites of the _Koshiir Ra_. All the sensors could tell him was that the object was approaching at far jump velocities and energy levels.

Finally, the object arrived. Kiir checked the exit coordinates and observed the area, waiting for the thing to emerge from hyperspace.

A quantum wavefront, shimmering with orange Progenitor hues, opened up before a pair of T-MAT megaships. Kiir felt relieved and amazed – another wondrous Progenitor artifact was here to help them.

Then the fully-opened quantum wavefront just stayed there. Kiir stared in puzzlement – there was no new ship, no wondrous Progenitor artifact emerging from hyperspace.

Instead, the dazzling vermillion of a phased cannon blast emerged from the wavefront, impaling the megaships and blowing them into crystalline smithereens.

For a moment, Kiir stared in dumbfounded shock as the phased cannon blast faded, the quantum wavefront closing in the wake of the megaships' deaths. Then multiple smaller wavefronts began opening in rapid succession all around the Alliance fleets, all taking place behind the defensive barriers of the _Koshiir Ra_'s distortion field. Once fully opened, point defence beams began flashing out from the wavefronts, shaving armour off cruisers and shattering the smaller frigate class vessels.

Kiir suddenly sensed the main wavefront opening right behind the _Koshiir Ra_. A phased cannon blast emerged, only to slam against a localized distortion field Kiir had put up at the last minute.

By now, the Alliance fleet was clearly going into a panic. Ships everywhere were getting besieged by Progenitor point defence blasts emerging from hyperspace.

"All forces, maximum evasive!" Kiir quickly broadcast as he scrambled to disable the main field in favour of shielding each and every individual Alliance ship. Then the Guardian shook hard as another phased cannon blast fired from hyperspace, slamming into its own localized field.

"Sajuuk damn it," Kiir swore as he pumped whatever remaining power there was into the Grand Core. Switching to sensors view, he saw the object remaining stationary in hyperspace – just as he had suspected. Somehow, the ship was capable of attacking from hyperspace, rendering it immune to nearly every form of retaliation.

Then a terrible thought hit him – the ship was a Progenitor vessel, it had a phased cannon array, it had lethal point defences, powerful hyperspatial manipulative abilities…

"God, no…" Kiir whispered as he focused all of the Grand Core's power on the object and attempted to force it into normal space.

Space itself shook violently as Kiir pitted the power of One against the power of Three. The hyperspace attacks ceased suddenly as the space in front of the _Koshiir Ra_ began to shimmer and wobble. However, the _Sajuuk_ continued to put up a good fight, resisting the Grand Core's attempts at bringing it back into normal space.

It was then that the _Sajuuk_ stopped resisting, allowing a yellow wavefront to open and reveal the ship's length slowly and easily.

The next moment, computerized alerts began sounding as a hole opened up in the _Koshiir Ra_'s field. Kiir saw the Core Trinity section of the _Sajuuk_ glowing with tremendous power, suddenly realizing that the ship was using the Three Cores to force a breach in the quantum distortion field.

"Perish."

Kiir paused in shock, scarcely believing his ears. He reached out towards the _Sajuuk_, probing its internal systems, tracing the source of the transmission.

When he touched Karan's consciousness, Kiir didn't know what to make of things. Dozens of possible logical reactions raced through his mind, but none took hold.

Then Kiir saw the front prong of the _Sajuuk_ glow a brilliant vermillion.

* * *

"Perish."

General Qwaar's eyes widened when he heard the transmission, as did the rest of the _Paaura_'s crew. For a moment, everyone ceased their work and stared in amazement at the _Sajuuk_.

Then they all watched in horror as the phased cannon blast hit _Koshiir Ra_ squarely on its right side, buckling hull armour and internal structures. A series of explosions ripped through the torn hull as massive distortion field arrays fell away from the Guardian's right side. Almost instantly, the distortion fields protecting the Alliance flickered and died.

"Perish!"

Now the _Sajuuk_'s point defences tore into the vulnerable _­Koshiir Ra_, rupturing dozens of quantum energy nodes and causing bolts of pure quantum energy to arc around the right hull of the Guardian. As a second wave of explosions began blowing apart entire sections of the ruined right hull, the point defence shots were finally halted by a weak distortion field.

"PERISH, YOU ALL!" Karan screamed like a banshee across every transmission channel on and around Hiigara, her voice filled with utter rage and despair.

"That's not Karan," General Qwaar began to say, "Hell, there's no way Karan would do such a thing…"

One by one, the crew returned to their tasks, anxiously compensating for the time they had lost during that period of complete shock. And then, the viewscreens lit up as the _Sajuuk_ fired its phased cannon array again, dispersing destructive energy all around the Guardian's flickering distortion field.

"Fuck, I'm taking over!" General Qwaar swore as he rushed to the communications station and activated a fleet-wide broadcast, "_Paaura _to fleet, that's not Karan! All ships, focus fire and blow that bitch out of the sky!"

* * *

Vanaar and the Vaygr forces too had been surprised by Karan's sudden 'return.' Unlike the Hiigaran navy however, they quickly recovered within seconds. As the Hiigaran forces began to respond slowly and hesitantly towards what was supposedly their matriarch, Vanaar quickly took the initiative.

"Attention non-Hiigaran Alliance forces," Vanaar announced, "I do not know if you are ready to trust a Vaygr, but in this moment of crisis I am confident that you will make the right choice. Frerrn forces, fire your antimatter missiles and keep the Mythra at bay. T-MAT and Nalthoran fleets, please lend your support to the Frerrn. I will handle the _Sajuuk_."

Vanaar paused for a moment, awaiting the inevitable backlash from the staunchly anti-Vaygr Nalthorans and the Frerrn. And then, acknowledgements began sounding from all over as the Alliance moved to complete their tasks.

_"It would appear that your worries were unfounded,_" the T-MAT spoke in its collective voice, _"We will keep the Mythra busy – do your best with the _Sajuuk."

As the T-MAT closed the channel, Vanaar turned to face the imminent battle, watching as the Vaygr fleet changed course to intercept the _Sajuuk_.

* * *

Damage reports and warning dialogs screamed at Kiir from every direction. Due to the considerable internal damage, it was taking nearly all of his concentration to just maintain control of the ship.

"Qwaar dammit!" Kiir cursed as the _Sajuuk_ surged past the _Koshiir Ra_'s damaged side, strafing the ship with its point defences. Another explosion rocked the God's superstructure, sending another list of warning dialogs into Kiir's face.

There just wasn't enough power left to generate a full sphere of protection. All Kiir could do now was to shift a localized distortion field around the _Koshiir Ra_ and hopefully block the _Sajuuk_'s attempts at destruction.

Another set of warning dialogs popped up as the _Sajuuk_ came around the rear and strafed the main drives, knocking one of the two drives offline. Kiir cursed some more and shifted the distortion field accordingly, which was barely keeping up with the _Sajuuk_'s movement.

And then a quantum wavefront opened up before the _Sajuuk_, swallowing up the entire vessel.

Taking advantage of the temporary respite, Kiir queried the Grand Core's activation systems, hoping for a lucky break. Unfortunately, he got no response from the systems.

"Must've been knocked out by that attack," Kiir muttered as he kept his eyes peeled for the _Sajuuk_'s next attack. Then another warning dialog pulled his attention to the Sphere in the distance, which was now glowing a bright crimson.

"No way!" Kiir yelled as he quickly shifted the distortion field to the front and pumped whatever remaining power there was into the generators. No sooner had he done so did the sensors pick up the opening of a quantum wavefront right on top of him. Looking up, Kiir saw the unmistakable orange of the _Sajuuk_'s hyperspace attack.

The din of warning alerts became almost unbearable when the Sphere finally let loose its attack, sending a pulse of pure destruction towards the _Koshiir Ra_. At the same time, the _Sajuuk_'s quantum wavefront opened completely and shimmered in preparation for what was coming next.

Kiir suddenly found himself back in his body onboard the _Sajuuk Khar_. He stared blankly for a while, trying to reorient himself, then staggered clumsily to his feet. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of the action on one of the room's viewscreens.

"No…" was all he managed to whisper.

* * *

Vanaar could only watch from a distance as the _Koshiir Ra _took a direct hit from both the Sphere and the _Sajuuk_. The Sphere's ionic shock blast slammed full force into the frontal distortion field, crumpling it completely and vanquishing it from existence. The remaining energy dispersed outwards from the point of impact, sending multiple shockwaves slamming into the exposed _Koshiir Ra_ and tearing off pieces of its superstructure.

Then a phased cannon blast emerged from the quantum wavefront, piercing all the way through the _Koshiir Ra_ like an unstoppable spear. As the phased cannon blast faded, the left-side distortion field arrays fell away and shattered. The twin hulls moved in opposite directions, the ship having been completely severed in two by the blast.

Vanaar was forced to shield his eyes when the twin hulls disintegrated, disappearing in a blinding flash of pure quantum energy.

And a God died.

* * *

Talos came to groggily, his head throbbing badly from a splitting headache – a side effect of whatever had knocked him out. He could tell he had been unconscious for a long time, maybe even hours. As the world before him swam into focus, he saw General Xiedo looking straight at him.

"Sir, are you alright?" the Frerrn general asked, "You've been out for quite some time now."

"Where are we?" Talos asked, trying to shake the grogginess and the pain from his head.

"I don't know. When I woke up we were already in here," Xiedo replied as he gestured to the cold steel walls surrounding them. They were both in a holding cell of some sort, with no air vents or any other visible means of escape.

"We're most probably onboard one of their megaliths," Talos guessed, "If that is the case, we are probably very far from any help."

"_You certainly have a flair for stating the obvious."_

Talos was startled by the sudden intrusion while Xiedo sprang up and braced himself for whatever was coming next. Slowly, the cell doors slid open, allowing light from the bright beyond to slip into the darkened room. A silhouette suddenly appeared at the doorway of light – a _humanoid_ silhouette.

"Prime Minister Talos, I presume?" the figure asked.

"If I do not usurp myself, I am," Talos answered as he got to his feet.

"Excellent, we've been waiting _so long_ for your arrival," the figure chuckled as it strode into the room.

Both Talos and Xiedo stared at the bizarre being before them. It was a humanoid like most of the other Alliance races, but that was the only similarity. The rest of the person was a horrific blend of flesh and circuitry, with no clear distinction between the two. There was only one dull-coloured eye where there should have been two, and patches of cold metal and wiring fixed in irregular patterns on the face. One of the arms was completely mechanical while the other was another unbelievable combination of bionics and flesh. Thankfully, the figure was clothed such that the legs were concealed. Talos could not imagine what the other limbs would have looked like.

Then a terrible stench hit Talos, causing the minister to stagger slightly. He glanced again at the areas of exposed skin on the figure and realized that it was all rotting away, as though corrupted by some terrible flesh-eating disease. The Agemo followed Talos' gaze to his semi-decomposed left arm and chuckled.

"I apologize for the terrible appearance, but it can't be helped I'm afraid," the Agemo mentioned casually.

"What in heaven's name is wrong with you people?" Talos asked, his eyes scarcely believing the sight before them.

"Just an annoying ailment that won't go away," the Agemo replied as the room began to flood with a light blue mist, "But of course, your Galaxy will certainly be very helpful in this matter."

And then the chemical mist took effect, dragging both Xiedo and Talos back into the realm of unconsciousness.


	19. Gemini

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 18: GEMINI**

* * *

"The _Koshiir Ra_ is down! I repeat, the _Koshiir Ra_ is DOWN!" General Qwaar hollered into the channels, "Calling all available combat and salvage vessels in range, we need to reclaim the Grand Core NOW!"

And then the _Pauura_ lurched sickeningly to one side, the bridge lights flickering into darkness for a moment before regaining power. Several consoles began to spark wildly from the power fluctuations, giving rise to colourful curses of pain from the bridge crews.

"Direct phased cannon hit to support modules nine through twelve!" yelled an officer, "Main drives down to sixty-five percent power!"

"Multiple quantum wavefronts detected," another anxious voice sounded, "Brace for straf…"

The lights began to fail once again as the point defence shots lanced out from hyperspace, raining down onto the _Pauura_ from above. Klaxons screamed for all they were worth as the bridge was gripped by the massive tremors convulsing through the command ship. An exceptionally violent quake signaled the detonation of something big.

"That last salvo just took out the engineering module!" came the alarmed report, "One hundred percent casualties!"

"Charge up the siege cannons!" Qwaar ordered, having decided it was only a matter of time before his ship succumbed, "We'll give them a parting blast to remember us by!"

The twin siege cannons of the _Paaura_, mounted on both sides of the Explorer IV class vessel, locked onto their targets and began the charge sequence. Spheres of pure plasma gathered at the front of the cannons, increasing in size and brightness as the magnetic spheres were filled to their limits. Then the cannon barrels bounced backwards from the recoil, sending the two globes of simmering plasma towards the menacing Sphere and its escort fleet.

To the general's dismay, one of the globes was prematurely detonated by a well-placed point defence shot from the Mythra Sphere. The shockwave raced outwards, its destruction eventually reaching the _Paaura_. Damage report alerts sounded as the command ship took additional damage from the plasma shockwaves.

The second shot, however, managed to reach its intended destination before exploding, unleashing all of its raw energy on the Mythra ships in its vicinity. As the blast consumed several Mythra frigates and destroyers, the hyperspace attack on the _Paaura_ suddenly ceased.

"What the hell just happened?" Qwaar demanded, relief washing over him as he spoke the words.

"Sir, the _Sajuuk_ is dropping out of hyperspace in front of the Frerrn forces," informed an officer.

* * *

Karan stared in disbelief as the ship was wrenched unceremoniously from hyperspace. One moment of oversight on her part was all that it had taken. A quick check with the sensors confirmed that the source of the disruption was from the fleet in position before her.

Suddenly, the sensors began to scream into her senses, registering dozens of objects closing in at super-high velocities. Karan raised the _Sajuuk_'s shields…

…And screamed in agony as the might of antimatter assaulted her.

* * *

"My lord, the Frerrn report a successful hit on the _Sajuuk_," a Vaygr officer reported, "The _Sajuuk_ has lost all shields and suffered moderate hull damage."

"Excellent, order the Frerrn to continue holding the _Sajuuk_ in normal space," Vanaar replied, "How much longer before our shard fighters reach firing range?"

"Approximately fifteen more seconds."

"I want them all to fire once they are within range," Vanaar ordered, "Priority goes to disabling the Core Trinity systems."

"Affirmative," the officer replied as he went about transmitting the necessary orders. Vanaar then turned his attention to the main capital ship battle ahead of them.

His forces were easily punching their way through the Sphere's escorts, thanks to the sheer firepower provided by the new phased cannon equipped battlecruisers and the plasma shard fighters. Any attempts by the Mythra to disable the capital ships were easily halted by the superior Vaygr strike craft swarms.

The main viewscreen then switched to the battle around _Sajuuk_. Sure enough, the once-pristine hull of the God was now scorched and shredded from the incredible power of the Frerrn antimatter missiles. Even some of the point defence turret banks were no longer functional from the assault.

Vanaar watched as the shard fighters glided in, switched to bomber mode, and began strafing the trapped _Sajuuk_ for all they were worth. The bullet-like bolts of energized plasma sank deep into the Great Maker's pitted hull, exploding underneath the surface and blowing off bits of outer hull armour. Then the fighters banked sharply away and went for the Core Trinity section. Another salvo of plasma found its way to the section, leaving ugly spots of black on the metal that housed the Three Cores.

But the Core Trinity was already glowing with increasing intensity, and Vanaar knew it would only be a matter of time before the Frerrn hyperdrives were exceeded. Not that his attempt at disabling _Sajuuk_ was supposed to be successful – there was just no way to do so, not with the Mythra keeping up the pressure at the same time.

Sure enough, a quantum wavefront opened up before the _Sajuuk_ and swept through its entire length, pulling it into hyperspace. At the same time, the Sphere began to turn around, collecting its escorts back into its massive hangars. Then Vanaar, as well as every other ship in the Alliance, felt the fabric of space and time shake and vibrate as the Sphere engaged its timespace drive and withdrew.

"All Alliance representatives, please meet immediately at the _Sajuuk Khar_," Yuno's voice came in as the transmission was broadcasted throughout the gathered fleets, "I repeat, please meet immediately at the _Sajuuk Khar_ for an emergency debrief."

"Set course for the _Sajuuk Khar_," Vanaar ordered quickly. As the _Scimitar_ manoeuvred towards its new destination, the warlord took one last glance at the final resting place of the Guardian.

* * *

"Has the Grand Core been secured?" Kiir asked anxiously as he studied the overall damage report of the _Eidolon_.

"Salvage teams have brought it onboard the _Sajuuk Khar_, so don't worry too much," Yuno's holographic avatar replied, "Tech teams are working to link it up to the main reactor."

"Tell them to work faster, we need the Grand Core online as quickly as possible," Kiir quickly spoke as his eyes ran down the long list of damaged components. Then he leant back in his chair, covering his face with his hands.

"Can you believe it," Kiir began muttering, "I let the Mythra kidnap Talos. I crippled a dreadnaught. I even managed to lose _Koshiir Ra_ – all this in one battle!"

"Look, the kidnapping wasn't your fault, it was the Mythra's" Yuno quickly countered, "Besides, no one else could have prevented it. Not you, not Vanaar, not even the T-MAT or the Frerrn. You knew that the _Eidolon_ was the only ship capable of responding in that inhibitor field…"

"I also knew that it would be one ship against a whole Sphere fleet," came the lifeless reply, "What the hell was I thinking then, I could've used _Koshiir Ra_ to trap that freighter rather than send in a lone dreadnaught!"

"I know you can go Unbound with a thought, but even then the interfacing would take some time, " Yuno replied with a sigh, "There's still no guarantee that you would've been able to stop them in time."

"Alright then, let's say you're right on those counts," Kiir said as he let his hands fall limply to his sides and swiveled the chair around to face Yuno, "How do you explain away my losing of a Progenitor ship, and a Progenitor _God _ship at that?"

Yuno paused, unsure of what to say next. Kiir gazed at Yuno for a few seconds, then swiveled back around to stare at the console screen he was working at.

"Sorry girl, but you'll have to take care of the Alliance for me," Kiir spoke in a resigned voice, "I have no right to chair that debrief, not after what I've done."

"But…"

Before Yuno could say any more, her hologram shimmered away as Kiir locked her out of his room. He sighed and stared at the illuminated screen before him, as though doing so would somehow reverse all the accidents of the day…

* * *

"I'm afraid Kiir will not be joining us for the debrief today owing to some important affairs of state," Yuno explained to the representatives before her, "He sends his apologies for his absence."

"Important affairs of state you say?" Vanaar asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

Yuno glared at Vanaar, who shrugged casually and turned away from her gaze. Sighing, Yuno faced the representatives again.

"As we all know by now, the Frerrn prime minister and general have been abducted by the Mythra to an unknown location. Therefore, it would be best if the new representatives could now introduce themselves to the Alliance…"

"I am Admiral Achnos, and I will be acting leader of the Frerrn Aggregate in the absence of Talos and Xiedo," the burly military leader quickly spoke from the Frerrn side of the table, "I think that is all that the Alliance needs to know. So, can we get on to the plan of rescue now?"

Yuno stared at the impatient admiral, momentarily stunned by his sudden response. Then she quickly pulled herself together to formulate a dignified response.

"Sir, I understand that both you and your people are concerned about the prime minister and…"

"Concerned? The entire fleet is in _chaos_ even as we speak!" exclaimed the admiral angrily, "The only reason the rest of the Aggregate is not panicking is because I've ordered an information blackout! Now, if we cannot find Talos and Xiedo in due time…"

"Admiral, please calm down!" Yuno responded in a desperate attempt to control the situation, "That is why the Alliance is gathered here at this moment, so that we may devise a suitable means of retrieving them."

"And if I may raise a point of information," Vanaar quickly interjected upon seeing that Yuno's attempts were having little effect, "It was not entirely the fault of the Hiigarans that the prime minister and the general were captured…"

"Are you saying that we were the careless ones?" Achnos flared, aghast that Vanaar would even dare suggest such a thing.

"Of course not," Vanaar replied coolly, "It was the Mythra's of course. They were the ones who did the kidnapping. In that light, one can easily forgive the Hiigarans, since the Mythra are quite well-known for their ability to deceive even the most extensive of sensor scans. Besides, there is no point in wasting time on a blame game now. I'm sure the rest of the Alliance agrees."

Achnos glared angrily at the Vaygr warlord, unable to say a thing in response to Vanaar's reasoning. Yuno stole a glance at the livid admiral, then turned to Vanaar with a look of approval on her face. Vanaar returned the gesture with a slight nod.

"Now that things have calmed down, let us resume the meeting," Yuno started once more, "The Agemo know that we can fend off their Sphere fleets, or even defeat them. Therefore, it only makes sense that the prime minister and the general have been taken to their megalith."

_"If that is the case, then retrieving them will prove quite difficult,"_ the T-MAT commented collectively, _"Especially since we have lost the _Koshiir Ra_…"_

A silence fell over the room when the _Koshiir Ra_ was mentioned. The only reason the Alliance had managed to beat the odds thus far was because of the Guardian protecting their flanks, guarding their assaults from the retaliatory attacks of the enemy. But now there was no more Guardian, no more miraculous shield to cover the Alliance forces as they made their moves.

"It would be suicide for us to go up against the megalith unprotected," Vanaar admitted in a rare tone that sounded almost apologetic, "I doubt even our strike craft would stand a chance."

"So you will all abandon the prime minister and the general?" Achnos demanded, unwilling to accept Vanaar's words.

"You are a military person, admiral, and I am sure that you know an impossible situation when you see one," Vanaar answered calmly, "You witnessed how the megalith managed to defend itself against your fleet's hypervelocity antimatter missiles. You saw the firepower it used against the Keepers."

"So, you are all going to just sit back and wait, wait until the Agemo come for us all?" Achnos exclaimed furiously, "This is a surprising change from the stand you took earlier. Weren't you the one who was so staunchly opposed to our strategy of retreat?"

"Yes I was, but the situation is different now," Vanaar countered, "I took that stand with the assumption that there would be a _Koshiir Ra_ protecting us while we attacked. Now that the _Koshiir Ra_ has been destroyed, my previous stand is invalid now. Of course, there was also the unimportant fact that I was conversing with a spy and not the real person."

"Therefore, you will wait for destruction, just because there is no more _Koshiir Ra_?" Achnos asked, smirking slightly at the warlord, "I am surprised. I expected more from a Vaygr."

"Admiral Achnos, it is impolite for you to be putting words into others' mouths," Vanaar started in a dangerous voice, "I did not explicitly say that we should sit back and wait. That is sheer stupidity. Even as we speak, the rest of the Crusades are carrying out a promising investigation, the results of which should be coming in within a few days."

"A 'promising investigation?' " Yuno perked up at Vanaar's choice of words, "Would you care to elaborate a little on the details?"

"Of course I will elaborate," Vanaar replied as all eyes in the room turned to him, "We Vaygr, being inhabitants of the Eastern Fringe, used to seek an eastward territorial expansion out of respect for the Inner and Outer Rim worlds and their territorial rights. Of course, this ideal was quickly lost in the civil war and the invasion that followed."

"How surprising," a Nalthoran interjected in a sarcastic tone, with the rest of the Nalthoran delegation giving skeptical looks to Vanaar. But the warlord didn't even respond to their interruptions.

"I was intrigued to find that it was not just the Vaygr civil war that vanquished the intents of a continued eastward expansion," Vanaar continued, "It seems that eastward expansion was also halted by an extensive hyperspace wall similar in nature to the wall of the Southern Fringe."

"Perhaps it was a naturally-occurring phenomenon, some leftover effect from an initial galactic collision?" Yuno suggested.

"I suspected that initially, but suspected otherwise later on," Vanaar replied, "The Hyperspace Wall of the Southern Fringe is made up of hyperspatial and gravitational anomalies caused by stellar disruption of the previous galactic collision. Therefore, the various inhibitor fields overlap in a random fashion, resulting in a rather unclear boundary between what is normal unaffected space and what is the disrupted space of the Wall."

_"Was that not the case of the Eastern Wall?"_ the T-MAT enquired.

"It seemed so at first, but later on our scientists managed to determine that the fields were arranged in an artificially preset pattern," Vanaar revealed, "We were on the brink of declaring the Wall as naturally-occurring until we realized that the field arrangements were such that they seemed random, but were actually following a pattern that simulated randomness."

"So this Eastern Wall is artificially generated? " Yuno's eyes began to widen at the startling implications, "But there is nothing beyond the Eastern Limit! Interstellar telescopes across the Galaxy have studied that region for millennia – there is nothing there!"

"Or it _seems_ there is nothing there," Vanaar smiled, "I suspect that there is a massive cloaking field of some sort which is preventing us from seeing what lies beyond."

"This is nothing but wild speculation on Vanaar's part," Achnos commented skeptically, "Have you any evidence with which to prove your claim?"

"The overwhelming evidence which you seek is expected to come in with the results of the current investigation," Vanaar answered sarcastically, "Meanwhile, I do have some less convincing but nonetheless relevant proof."

As he finished his sentence, Vanaar pulled a datadrive from his pocket and connected it with a port on the table. He turned to Yuno, who immediately nodded and dimmed the room lights in preparation for what he had to show.

The main viewscreen in the room lit up as the video data was played. Set against the black backdrop of starless extragalactic space, the bright light of a blue supergiant flickered across the void.

"This is a video playback of a supergiant undergoing a gravitational collapse," Vanaar explained, "Our scientists were observing it from a distance of forty-two light years as part of a study on stellar behaviour. As you can see, it very bright to view even from such a distance."

"Spare us the documentary details and get to the point sir," Achnos added in snidely.

Once again calmly ignoring the comments of his detractors, Vanaar went on as though nothing had happened, "Pay attention to the video – the proof is coming soon."

The video then zoomed in to a seemingly starless area just to the left of the supergiant's fluctuating halo. The magnification continued until there was nothing but starless black space that was slightly illuminated by the flaring light of the nearby supergiant.

"Is this your proof?" Achnos smirked, "There is nothi…"

Suddenly, the view seemed to shimmer slightly as the gravitational shockwaves from the nearby star seemed to interfere with something in the vicinity. The shimmering became more prominent as the starless black space seemed to bend and warp, scattering the light from the supergiant. And then the empty void was replaced with a completely incongruous scene: a sea of stars and a brilliant bulge in the distance – the unmistakable visual signs of a galaxy. For a few more seconds, the unbelievable scene continued to exist. Then the empty black returned as abruptly as it had given way.

The lights in the room came back on as the video ended. Slipping the datadrive back into his pocket, Vanaar smirked at the now dumbfounded Frerrn admiral.

"If not for the gravitational shockwaves, I never would have suspected that there was a cloaking field in the first place," Vanaar conceded, "But as you can see now, there is a high likelihood that a cloaking field is stopping us from seeing beyond the Eastern Wall."

"But that scene… the structure of the stars…" Yuno began as she tried to get over the shock and wonder of what she had just seen, "There's no way it could possibly be…"

"Your suspicions are most probably correct Yuno," Vanaar spoke, "Our Galaxy has a twin."

* * *

As the world swirled back into focus before his eyes, Talos tried to remember what was going on. He vaguely remembered a guard knocking General Xiedo out cold. He remembered being forcibly taken onboard a freighter and then getting whisked far away from Hiigara. Then the memory of seeing the Agemo first-hand hit him squarely like a sledgehammer on the forehead – the indescribable meld of flesh and machine, the rotting flesh, the terrible stench…

Talos' eyes opened fully as the memory knocked out any grogginess and returned him to full, alert consciousness. Looking around, he found himself encased in a small force field cell about ten metres in diameter.

"Glad to have you back with us sir," came the familiar yet alien voice of the Agemo. He turned around and saw the same biomechanical thing looking at him from outside the force field.

"What have you done to Xiedo?" Talos demanded, "Why have you even come to this Galaxy?"

"Well well, it seems that you are in luck my friend," another deeper rasping voice came from behind the guard. The guard stepped aside and bowed silently as a taller and more massive figure stepped out of the shadows. Talos murmured a silent prayer at the sight.

The thing before him was humanoid like the guard, but only _just_. So disproportionate and bionic was the being before him that Talos could scarcely believe it was even alive. A metallic mechanical arm protruded from the right side of the figure's robes, while the left arm was an uneven mass of semi-mechanical rotting flesh. The face was thankfully hidden behind a robotic mask, the electronic eyes glinting black out of the metallic sockets.

"Monstrosity," Talos managed to say after several seconds of horror.

"That description will be a thing of the past once we are done with your Galaxy," the Agemo answered, the mechanical face plates moving around to formulate something which looked like a smile, "I'm sure you will understand."

"No, I cannot and never will understand the reasons behind your civilisation's continued destructions, no matter what they are," Talos declared.

"Oh really?" the figure asked as it took one step closer to the force field, causing Talos to take a step backwards in caution, "I am surprised, really. I expected a race capable of interstellar travel to be able to understand the principles on which life itself is built."

Talos remained silent, refusing to take his attention off the menacing thing before him. The Agemo considered Talos' reaction for a while, then appeared to sigh as it began walking around the outskirts of the force field.

"Let us ask you a simple question," the figure began as it lumbered around to Talos' right, "Is it wrong for a species to ensure its continued existence?"

"What has destroying galaxies got to do with 'ensuring continued existence?'" Talos demanded, "If you are going to claim pre-emptive action so as to remove all possible threats, then that will be one of the weaker arguments I have heard of in a while."

"I'm afraid you are much mistaken, 'minister,'" the figure replied as it continued walking, "This is not the 'pre-emptive action' that you suggest. Let us say that this destruction is a… regrettable side effect of our species' continued survival."

The Agemo stopped for a moment to observe Talos, who now wore a mystified look on his face. Making a noise that sounded like a sigh, the figure continued its walking.

"We used to be physical sentient beings not unlike you and the other denizens of your Galaxy," the alien began, "We went through all the usual stages expected of in a civilization – war, peace, progress in both technology and society. We eventually reached a pinnacle of development – a point of time in which there seemed to be no way for further progress."

At that moment the being paused and looked directly at Talos, "Have you ever heard of the concept of 'Ascension?'" the Agemo asked.

Not bothering to wait and see Talos' response, the figure turned away and resumed his journey around the force field cell, "Ascension is a means by which a people breaks free of the physical limitations imposed by their current existence, and moves on to a higher plane of existence. In that plane of existence, they would thus be free to continue their progress until they reached another developmental threshold forcing another Ascension. Or so the theory goes."

"Our civilization saw it as an utopian future, a future that would be lived in a radically different manner from the way we lived it in this existence. Naturally, we diverted all of our resources and efforts to making this a reality."

By now the Agemo had completed one round around Talos' cell and stopped where he had started from.

"But during the progress of our civilization of millennia long past, we had made many enemies. These enemies banded together in an attempt to seek revenge, to destroy the wonders we had built up over the eons."

"The act of sabotage was not known until the very last moment, and by then it was too late. The Ascension failed and trillions died. A few of us managed to survive only by virtue of combining our fragmented consciousness into several stronger collective minds. However, we could only hover in the form of psionic consciousness, watching helplessly as our enemies took the chance to destroy everything we had built thus far."

"We were enraged of course, and knew that even in a collective state we could only exist for so long. Therefore, we split apart and entered the minds of our enemies, pouring all our rage and anger into an immeasurable psionic wrath. We were determined to drive them insane, as a final revenge against those behind the sabotage."

"Imagine our surprise when we realized that we could uproot the consciousness of the host, flinging it away from its original body, watching the psyche and mind of the host disintegrate outside the body. The body was then ours to control, ours to manipulate, ours to exist in."

"We salvaged whatever technology we could, grabbing anything that could be of use to us. Then we fled before reinforcements could arrive."

Talos was now staring at the Agemo with an expression of complete and utter horror and fear. The figure's mouth moved awkwardly as it laughed.

"We have come a long way since then, and are well on the route of progress once again," the figure said, "It will be eons before we attain the means of Ascension once again, but until then, we must continually look for new vessels to host our minds and consciousness. This is the result of a side effect of this process, a result which you can see with your own eyes."

The Agemo pointed to the rotting left arm it had, smirking when it saw Talos take a few steps back in disgust.

"We do not quite understand what causes this, but it seems that the vessels are 'dead' once the original consciousness is uprooted and cast away. Hence the annoying ailment which disturbs you so much."

"Heavens," Talos managed to utter, "To how many civilizations have you done this?"

"I'm afraid we haven't really bothered to keep track, but a reasonable estimate would be somewhere in the hundreds," the figure smiled once more, "And unfortunately, your Galaxy is next because there not only exists a fresh supply of the vessels we so desperately require, but also a power with the capability to stop us."

"The Progenitors," Talos commented, "You're afraid of them."

"At first, but not any more," the figure responded, "We now understand that they are a shattered civilization, devastated by their own civil war. So all we have to do now is move in and eliminate any other sources of trouble, one of which is this Sajuuk which your Galactic denizens worship."

"Sajuuk is just a warship, there's nothing more to it," Talos answered quickly, "We called him the Great Maker because of this warship's abilities."

"If that is the case, do you expect us to believe that your 'Frerrn Aggregate' had independently developed antimatter missile and energy shield technology?" the figure asked in an unconvinced tone, "Bad choice. We so detest lies and deception. So now, you must be punished."

The Agemo stepped aside and something moved into plain view. Talos gasped when he saw a defiant Xiedo strapped tightly to a vertical metallic board encased within a capsule made of transparent material. The general was swearing and mouthing obscenities, but no words could be heard.

"Perhaps you would like a first-hand demonstration of how the entire process works," the figure spoke slowly, "First we move the transfer interface within range…"

"By Sajuuk, please, no…" Talos began to say weakly as he saw a clear shimmering rod move down and halt in front of Xiedo's face.

"Then we uproot…"

"_NO!_"

A flash of light emanated from the rod as the general went into a sudden fit, his body writhing in uncontrollable spasms against the metallic restraints. His eyes were rolled back until Talos could barely see the black of his pupils. And then the writhing stopped suddenly and the general went limp, the rod retracting upwards to where it had emerged from. For a few seconds, there was no sign of movement.

Slowly but steadily, Xiedo raised his head and looked coldly into Talos' eyes. Talos looked away and squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lower lip as he did so.

For he knew the person was no longer Xiedo.

* * *

Author's note: This was inspired by a revelation on the Relicforums: that the Galaxy used as a reference for the Homeworld 1 galactic map is in fact the spiral galaxy M51. Even more interesting was the fact that M51 is a twin galaxy, and Relic had only shown us a Homeworld based on one of those galaxies.So I began to think: What secrets could this twin galaxy possibly hold? 


	20. A God Moves

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 19: A GOD MOVES**

* * *

When Talos opened his eyes again, the capsule encasing Xiedo, no, Xiedo's _body_, was no longer before his prison. He glared at the robed figure before him, his eyes filled with pure rage and anguish that seemed to bounce harmlessly off the Agemo's carapace of indifference.

"I see you don't quite like the transference process," the figure shrugged nonchalantly, "It's perfectly understandable – all of the other subjects who witnessed this first hand have expressed disgust and repulsion in some way or other."

"Your people are a curse to all life," Talos snarled, fighting back his sorrow, "To use living sentient beings as _vessels_! No wonder the Progenitors sought to destroy you!"

"A pity then, that their own civil war forced them to shut the galactic gate and halt the operations against our civilization," the figure replied with mock sympathy, "And now…"

"…Sajuuk will send you all to eternal damnation!" Talos spat.

"With what? Those miserable pieces of floating debris? Those pitiful excuses of destroyed megaliths?" the Agemo commented with amusement, "In case you were uninformed, which I have no doubt you are, we have already dealt with that annoyance you call the _Koshiir Ra_. And as far as we know, the other _Qwaar Jet_ was destroyed by the Alliance's own hand. There is no other ship or 'God' for you to fall back on."

"The _Koshiir Ra_?" Talos asked in disbelief, "Dealt with?"

"It doesn't really matter whether you believe us or not," the figure continued, "But I will still have that information on Sajuuk, and you are going to provide it."

"Like I said before, Sajuuk is just a ship," Talos repeated, "There's nothing more to it you monster."

"I see your memory may be failing you," the Agemo suddenly smiled again, "How about this – we will give you some time to, let us say, recuperate from your long journey. I believe rest does wonders for a tired mind. Voer now bids you farewell."

With a clanking of bionic limb against metallic flooring, both Voer and his escorting guard left Talos to his solitary confinement. The Frerrn minister waited until all he could hear was the nearly inaudible whirr of the ventilation systems before checking through his pockets and belongings. Having been knocked out several times since the abduction, there had been ample opportunities for the Mythra or the Agemo to conduct a full-body search and relieve him of his belongings. It was thus to Talos' great surprise that none of his items had been touched.

_Overconfidence on their part,_ Talos thought to himself as he inspected the palm-sized Progenitor artifact for any signs of damage.

* * *

_"So, this Galaxy of ours is actually a twin galaxy, and to think that even we have been ignorant of the fact all this time…_" the T-MAT commented, slightly defeated by the realization that even they had been in the dark, and that it was a Bound civilization that had discovered the secret.

"We were definitely quite lucky on our part," Vanaar conceded, "If that supergiant had not undergone the gravitational collapse, we would probably have dismissed the wall's pattern as a purely coincidental occurrence."

"So what exactly are we waiting for now?" Yuno asked, "You said something about the results of an investigation. Surely the recording is proof enough of a twin galaxy?"

"I was not looking for further proof, but merely a confirmation of the inhibitor field's strength and nature," Vanaar clarified, "Once the results come in I will require you to activate the Grand Core so that we may determine if we can jump through the Wall."

"You worry unduly, Vanaar, " Yuno smiled, "As far as we know, the Grand Core has more than sufficient power to…"

"That is where the Grand Core's weakness comes in," Vanaar interjected suddenly, "What if I said to you that the Grand Core uses sheer brute force to drive its way through any gravity well or inhibitor field?"

"That is an acknowledged fact – the Grand Core's energy operation levels are so high that even black hole gravity wells cannot halt it unless at extreme close ranges," Yuno noted, "But how is it a weakness?"

"Because no matter how powerful the Grand Core is, it cannot force itself through a region where hyperspace is nonexistent, unless it is within the Core's specifications to do so."

For a moment, Yuno's avatar just stood there in silence, staring at Vanaar as though he had just mentioned something deeply blasphemous. A few soft murmurs sounded from the T-MAT communication channels as they considered the possibility of Vanaar's statement, which bordered on the brink of quack science.

"Hyperspace, _nonexistent?"_ Yuno asked again as she tried to comprehend the warlord's words.

"I'm sure you all understand the basics of how a hyperspace interruption works," Vanaar stated plainly, "It is usually a case where the traveling ship impacts the outskirts of a field that deforms the quantum waveform. This field can be gravitational or just one that disrupts the quantum waveform frequency of the hyperdrive. As a result, the waveform is no longer able to hold the ship in hyperspace and the vessel drops back to normal space."

"Yes, but how does that tie in with hyperspace nonexistence?" Yuno enquired, still puzzled by the whole idea.

"We sent test ships, all equipped with hyperdrives capable of limited far jumps, to the Wall. Sure enough, they dropped from hyperspace upon hitting the wall. But there were some glaring differences," Vanaar explained, "The first of which was that the ships stopped instantly upon hitting the outskirts of the wall. This is different from the standard scenarios where jumping ships will continue on for some distance into the inhibitor field before dropping completely back to normal space. In this case, the test ships dropped out of hyperspace exactly where the inhibitor field began."

"The second difference is that prior to collision with the field, it was observed that the ships required more time than expected to reach the field's outskirts. Since the hyperspatial velocities of the vessels had remained constant throughout the journey, we could only conclude that the distance in hyperspace increased somehow. Now, this alone makes little or no sense at all, until we consider the last difference."

"Finally, the test ships that returned to normal space were ordered to travel into the field using conventional drives and then attempt hyperspace," Vanaar explained, "What was interesting was that quantum waveforms and wavefronts could be generated – only they were unable to bring the ships into hyperspace. The wavefronts swept through the ships, but they remained in normal space."

"Some of our scientists came up with a theory to explain this – that the inhibitor was created by displacing hyperspace from the band of space approximately a hundred light years in width so as to create an impassable wall between both galaxies. This would explain why there was additional hyperspatial distance prior to the inhibitor – that distance is due to the displaced hyperspace being pushed into the surrounding areas."

"And where there is no hyperspace to speak of, none of our current hyperdrive technology may allow FTL travel through the wall," Yuno finished, "Not even Kiir's hyperphase drive."

"Unless of course the Grand Core operates using different principles, which I very much doubt," Vanaar added.

_"But one can scarcely imagine the sheer amount of energy required to displace an entire dimension for a distance of not one, not several, but a hundred light years,_" the T-MAT mentioned suddenly, _"The civilization responsible for the field must surely be very highly advanced to even attempt such a feat."_

"Indeed," Vanaar nodded, "And so if the Grand Core proves incapable of penetrating the Eastern Wall, we will have to find some other way of getting to the other side…"

"Wait, I'm getting an incoming transmission," Yuno suddenly perked up, "Patching it through now…"

The excited discussions in the meeting room quickly calmed to a dead silence as the speakers crackled and prepared to disseminate the audio-only transmission. Then the interference ceased as the crystal-clear sound came through.

"…This is Hiigaran Outpost E1A, we've just received a Tobari distress call. It appears that they have dropped out of hyperspace on the outskirts of the Eastern Outer Rim and are under attack by Mythra forces. They are requesting immediate assistance. Long range scans indicate at least two Sphere fleets in the area. Your orders, Command?"

"Continue observing the situation and send updates where necessary. We will send reinforcements immediately. That is all." Yuno replied as she closed the channel.

"I will personally lead the Vaygr Elite Guard to assist the Tobari," Vanaar declared as he got up from his seat, "Yuno, we will require the use of the Grand Core if we are to get there in time."

"The Grand Core is being fine-tuned even as we speak and it should be ready for use when you are ready to go," Yuno replied, "I will issue the jump commands when your preparations are done. If possible, we will try to send Soban along with the _Gatekeeper_…"

"That will not be necessary," Vanaar firmly refused, "I believe the good captain has yet to recover from the _Eidolon_'s defeat."

"Then the Frerrn forces shall accompany you sir," Achnos added suddenly as he stood up, "If you will accept my sincere apologies for the disrespect shown earlier…"

"No hard feelings, Admiral," Vanaar quickly replied, "Now we must make haste if the Tobari are to survive the assault."

"May Sajuuk's blessings go with you both," Yuno spoke as the warlord and admiral took their leave.

* * *

"…Hyperspace exit successful, we're home," Faruun announced with a relieved sigh as hyperspace gave way to reveal the beautiful Homeworld before them.

"It's certainly been a long trip," Eefrit conceded as he leant back in his seat, "I can't believe so many of the others managed to survive."

It was truly a miracle. The _Kuun Lan II_ and _Eheb San_ had wake jumped their crippled carrier to a staging area where the rest of the surviving fleet was waiting. Faruun's entire fleet was largely intact, with only one or two frigates missing, while the additional forces brought by Eefrit lacked only several frigates that had been destroyed by either the ion storm or the Mythra. That they had escaped with relatively minimal losses was indeed a remarkable feat.

"I believe that's the Vaygr Elite Guard there in high orbit," Faruun mentioned as he gestured towards the gathered ships of the Warriors of the Fringe.

"In normal circumstances that would've been reason enough for mass panic," Eefrit commented, "The last time a Vaygr fleet came this close to Hiigara, a genocide occurred."

"Thank the Gods they're on our side now," Faruun muttered, "But do you trust them completely yet?"

"With those megaliths flying around out there? The Vaygr are the lesser of two evils, I'd say," came the reply.

"So you trust them?"

Eefrit leant back in his seat, taking in the majestic view of Hiigara before them, "I trust them for now. Only when this war ends will I know for sure."

Faruun shrugged and turned his attention to the flashing dialog message on his console screen, "I've just got a message from Yuno – she wants to meet you on the _Sajuuk Khar_ for a debrief ASAP."

Eefrit nodded in silence and closed his eyes as the horrific memories returned, memories of the seven things that had emerged from the Gate of Hara…

* * *

The device had, thankfully, been undamaged by whatever the Mythra and Agemo had put him through during his hours of unconsciousness. Talos quickly thought back to the message from Sajuuk, trying to recall the purpose of the device nestled comfortably in his right palm.

Then he carefully set the smooth metallic disk on the floor of his cell, tapping his finger thrice on a small circle imprinted on the disk's top.

The disk came to life suddenly, glowing softly from every nook and crevice of the tiny circuitry imprinted all over its surface.

_Should you be captured, which is almost definite if you apply this technology to every ship in your fleets, set the disk down and activate it immediately._

Talos watched as a shiny silvery liquid oozed from the circle imprinted on its top, dripping down along the sides of the disk and seeping into the floor of his cell…

* * *

"It's good to see you safe and sound, Eefrit," Yuno said when she saw the Hiigaran admiral enter the ready room. He looked slightly haggard and weary from his unexpectedly long journey. Otherwise, Eefrit was quite alright.

"Can I presume that the Alliance has already encountered a megalith?" Eefrit asked, deciding to do away with the pleasantries and get straight to the point.

"Yes, we have," Yuno answered, "Needless to say the Alliance fled from that battle."

"Wise choice," Eefrit noted, "You know there's more than one, do you?"

"According to the Frerrn Aggregate's observations, yes. From their prime minister's report, it is reasonable to suggest that there are three, maybe four…"

"Seven, to be exact," Eefrit interrupted suddenly.

_"Seven?_ " Yuno asked, completely taken aback by the new information.

"Nothing more, nothing less," Eefrit confirmed, "And I heard the Frerrn Aggregate is fairly advanced, with weapons far greater than our own. Not forgetting a prime minister who apparently is more well-informed than most heads of state…"

"Unfortunately, Prime Minister Talos has since been captured by the Mythra," Yuno told Eefrit sadly, "And the _Koshiir Ra_…"

"Yes, what about the _Koshiir Ra_?" Eefrit asked in return his curiosity piqued by the God's absence in Hiigaran orbit, "Has it been deployed on assignment?"

"The _Koshiir Ra_ was…"

"…Destroyed by me," a voice interrupted suddenly. Eefrit swiveled his seat around and saw Kiir standing at the doorway.

"Pardon?" Eefrit asked in confusion.

"It was a mistake, a very costly mistake," Kiir muttered as he trudged towards Eefrit. Then he pulled his security pass out of his pocket and placed it slowly beside the dumbfounded admiral.

"I resign."

* * *

Vanaar felt the last of the Grand Core's power fading away, depositing his forces directly in front of the battle. The Tobari fleet was under attack from two fronts and the severely damaged ships were now desperately trying to defend the _Ascension_ – flagship and pride of the Tobari forces.

System diagnostics returned to his mind, informing him that the ship was ready to go. Focusing his mind, Vanaar began broadcasting his orders throughout the Elite Guard. His job was to engage the Sphere attacking the Tobari frontal forces, while Admiral Achnos would lead the Frerrn fleet to eliminate the Sphere pressurizing the rear ships.

"Capital ships, engage the Sphere directly. All strike craft, neutralize capital ships and fighter cover," Vanaar ordered calmly as he attempted communications with the Tobari, "Tobari forces, this is the Vaygr Elite Guard. Please respond."

For a few seconds, Vanaar only got the full force of chaos from the Tobari channels. Pilots were screaming as their fighters exploded, captains were barking orders amidst much static, and the command centre on _Ascension_ only transmitted the sounds of failing hulls and breaching bulkheads.

Then a tiny voice of sanity appeared in the mess of signals. Vanaar quickly focused and amplified the channel, diminishing the excess background noise as he did so.

"…I am General Tora of the Tobari forces, and you have our thanks for coming to our assistance." the Tobari leader responded.

"General, my forces alone will face some difficulty against the Sphere," Vanaar communicated as he willed his flagship to let loose a phased cannon blast, completely disintegrating a Mythra cruiser that had been harassing them, "You must coordinate your attacks with mine if we want to rid ourselves of this scum quickly."

"I'm all ears," Tora replied.

"I understand your ships are equipped with advanced cloaking technology," Vanaar began, "Are there any of those ships in sufficient condition to cloak?"

"Most of our ships are too damaged to cloak, but there should still be a few destroyers and frigates that can do so. But the Mythra will be able to determine their location by extrapolating the weapons fire paths…"

"General, I believe you are not willing to sacrifice lives at whim, am I correct in saying that? " Vanaar suddenly asked.

"Of course, it is common doctrine to come out of war with minimal casualties at all times!"

"Then I must ask – if the sacrifice of lives will result in the defeat of the Mythra…"

"Get to the point Vaygr," Tora interrupted, "If you are considering kamikaze attacks then I must disagree. Kamikazes would scarcely begin to scratch the Sphere's hull!"

"But a quantum cascade would."

The general fell silent at Vanaar's words, and Vanaar took the chance to return his attention to the battle. The Vaygr battlecruisers were doing their work, using missile salvos and phased energy weapons to punch through the Mythra capital ship lines and approach the Spheres, while the shard fighters were making mincemeat of their Mythra equivalents. Each time a pilot or captain chanced upon a weak spot, the data would be sent to Vanaar for him to coordinate the overall strategic attack.

Such was the Vaygr war machine.

Then he picked up an energy spike as one of the Spheres prepared to fire its main ionic shock cannon. Functioning as efficiently as any Hiigaran Fleet Command, he instantly relayed the necessary coordinates to the fleet. Then the sensors were nearly blinded when the energy weapon fired, leaping forward to incinerate its targets. As the sensors began to stabilize, Vanaar grimaced at the loss of a destroyer and its frigate escorts, but his mental reflexes had already dispatched additional ships to cover the hole.

"Well?" Vanaar asked as he picked up the mighty flare of the Frerrn antimatter missiles pounding the second Sphere mercilessly.

"I have ordered for some ships to be set on autopilot," Tora responded, "Escape pods have been launched. We will be able to retrieve all but a few of them…"

"Send the coordinates, we will do what we can," Vanaar reassured.

His mind received the data, and he automatically sent new orders to the various ships closest to the escape pods' positions. The next step was now to recall the capital ships within the expected blast range. Another thought, and the captains responded, pulling their hulking vessels away from the unsuspecting Sphere.

And then multiple flashes of cerulean quantum energy inundated the Sphere's hull.

* * *

Tora watched as the ships' hyperdrives overloaded and released wave upon wave of pure quantum energy, ripping away sections and masses of metal from the Sphere. But he was not amazed by the sheer ferocity of the explosion – rather, he was amazed by the incredible coordination of the Vaygr fleet.

"In case you're wondering, the Elite Guard is probably led by an Unbound commander," Syne commented, "As far as I know, only Unbound commanders are capable of such precision and accuracy."

"No wonder the Bentusi and the T-MAT were able to remain the superiors of the Galaxy for so long," Tora said as he watched the Vaygr capital ships move in for the final blow.

_What a terrifying weapon,_ Tora thought, _To be Unbound._

* * *

_Unbound – such an ironic term,_ the figure mused as he processed the sensor readings coming in from every outpost along the western border. _One becomes free of mortal limitations, becoming one with the Universe, but also becoming inextricably Bound to one's ship._

Which was why the progress of technology in the area had been largely focused on reducing or even eradicating the Bound aspect of being Unbound. In the distant past, it had been necessary to interface the controller's mind with the machine via crude neural implants, creating a physical bridge between the brain and the computer. The complexity of the procedure meant that insertion into a command core was more or less a permanent affair, for there was always the risk that removing the links could result in brain trauma or even death.

Then the direct neural implants had been abandoned in favour of surgically implanting only the interface ports in the controller's brain, making the mind-machine interface a less permanent affair. It allowed the user to be interfaced completely with the ship's onboard systems, yet permitting easy extraction from the command core by a simple disconnection procedure at the cranial interface ports. Still, the controller's movement was largely restricted to within the command core - a tiny claustrophobic space that could put off even the most determined commander.

But now he could enjoy freedom never thought possible by his ancestors. Even as he interpreted and classified the incoming sensor data, he could stroll leisurely through one of the ship's beautiful eco-gardens.

A far cry from when he had to command ships from a flooded command tube.

It was then that a single unique transmission entered his mind. He paused for a moment, taking in the exotic scents around him before processing the message.

_"Location: M51-A, Southern Outer Rim, attempting to access exact coordinate data… Uploading classified data… _Koshiir Ra_ confirmed destroyed. Frerrn prime minister in Agemo custody. Total megaliths in galaxy: 7…"_

That was all he needed to know. Closing his eyes, he shifted the ship and the fleet from stand by to maximum alert.

"Sir, you have just shifted the fleet to maximum alert, the voice of an officer rang in his mind, Is anything the matter?"

_"They have come at last,"_ came the reply, formulated mentally and communicated to the officer by the computers, _"Dispatch _Templar_ immediately – the Frerrn prime minister is in grave danger."_

"Affirmative. Is there anything else, sir?"

_"Well…"_ he began, pausing to consider the implications of the Agemo's arrival. They were many but his forces were few. Despite his forces' technological power, there was just no way to go directly against that ancient force. Even combining forces with M51-A might not be enough.

"Sir? Is something wrong?"

"…_No, nothing at all,"_ he finally replied, understanding the inevitability of the situation. They would come eventually, even if Hara had not been prematurely opened. At the speeds with which they were moving, it was only a matter of time before they came here. And then, they would still have to face the enemy and rid the Universe of the Blight at any cost.

_"Bring the Galaxy to maximum alert and readiness_," he continued, "_Inform our people that the time has come for us to step forward and end the Blight. The Blight has done enough damage – it must be stopped here and now."_

"At once, sir," the officer replied as he closed the channel.

Lifting a delicate flower in his palm, Sajuuk took a slight breath, inhaling the aroma that only served to complement the petals' beauty. Then he proceeded down the path to the bridge, towards the coming war.


	21. Divine Intervention

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 20: DIVINE INTERVENTION**

* * *

"We have been compromised," the Agemo stated flatly to his superior, "Progenitor infiltration nanites have infiltrated the system."

"Extent of the damage?" Voer asked, his rotting eyebrows twisting themselves into a furrow as he tried to contain his anger.

"…The nanites have penetrated several key systems and accessed classified information, including astronavigation data," came the reply, "It is possible that the Progenitors already know where we are."

"The situation is being contained, I trust?" Voer spoke in a silent whisper, his voice quaking as he began considering methods of torture suitable for the Frerrn minister.

"Defensive AI has kicked in and further data is being isolated from the infection," the Agemo mentioned as he interfaced directly with the system, "Countermeasures will disable the nanites within the next few minutes."

"Do not destroy the nanites – we may need them to determine the location of these Progenitor survivors," Voer ordered as he began moving towards the door, "I want coordinates by the time I return, is that clear?"

"Yes, my lord."

There was no reply, for the doors had already slid shut behind the livid Agemo.

It was time to pay the minister a little visit.

* * *

"Come again?" Eefrit asked in a dangerous voice, refusing to believe what he had just heard.

"I resign," Kiir repeated flatly, "I relinquish all duties as Sjet'sa and Hiigara'sa."

"Kiir!" Yuno exclaimed, "You can't just…"

"Let me hear what he has to say," Eefrit interrupted, raising a hand for silence before turning back to face the Sjet, "Very well, you wish to resign. On what grounds?"

"I single-handedly caused the loss of the _Koshiir Ra_," Kiir responded, "Such a loss is detrimental both to our people and to the Alliance. It more than warrants a transfer of power to someone more capable."

"Failures are inevitable in one's career," Eefrit countered, "One can only pick up the pieces and move on."

"I also inadvertently caused the death of Officer Eliir Sjet when I ordered the _Eidolon_ to engage the Sphere alone," Kiir added in a monotonous voice, "As well as nearly causing the destruction of the Qwaar Jet Cor prototype ship."

"Unless I'm mistaken, it is Mythra policy to activate a hyperspace disruption field in the vicinity of their operations, making FTL travel possible only to ships equipped with hyperphase drives," Eefrit commented, "The Horizon II class battlecruiser _Tachyon_ was in dock undergoing repairs, while the other ships have not yet undergone the upgrade. Therefore I cannot blame your decision given those circumstances."

"You still don't get it, do you?" Kiir replied in a pained voice, "Of course – you don't have to face the pressures of being at the top, being answerable for whatever actions you take…"

"Says who?" Eefrit shot back, "Who says I don't have anything to worry about, to answer for? Don't you know every time a Hiigaran loses his or her life in battle, it is my duty to answer to their families, to their loved ones?"

"Alright then, let's say you also face these pressures," Kiir responded in what seemed to be more like a resigned sigh, "It seems reasonable then to suggest that you would be a more appropriate person for the job of Hiigara'sa."

"But Karan didn't choose me, or anyone else for that matter," Eefrit answered in a more calm tone now, "She picked you."

"And it appears to be an error of judgment on her part," Kiir said sadly, "It appears that she overestimated my abilities."

"Overestimated?" Eefrit was getting annoyed now by Kiir's incessant self-pity, "Someone who can go Unbound with a thought? Overestimated?"

"Look, I don't want to have anything to do with leadership roles of any sort, not after what I've gone through!" Kiir declared in frustration, "Why can't you all just…"

And Kiir landed on the floor, dazed from the punch to the face that Eefrit had just released. Yuno could only stare in wide-eyed shock.

"You're scarcely behaving like an adult here, Kiir," Eefrit spoke coldly to the scientist struggling to his feet, "Perhaps I now agree with you – perhaps Karan, Sajuuk forbid, really made a mistake when she chose you."

By the time Kiir had regained his senses sufficiently to take a look around, the admiral was already gone. He turned to face Yuno, but she simply sighed and let her avatar shimmer away into nothingness.

* * *

"Once again, I, General Tora of the Tobari forces, sincerely thank you for the assistance your fleet has rendered us," Tora spoke respectfully, "I never would have imagined that you, the Vaygr Khar himself, would come personally to aid us in battle."

"Dispense with the ceremonies," Vanaar replied, "I understand you were being attacked due to the information you were holding?"

"That is most likely the case, since your own forces were under attack while trying to pass the data to us," Tora agreed, "That said, it would be great if we could transmit the data to you ASAP."

"You may do so at once," came the reply.

_Finally,_ Vanaar thought, _Hopefully the results prove otherwise._

A quick thought broke the encryption and revealed the folder's contents to his mind. Stream upon stream of variables and results flooded through his consciousness, but mental reflexes easily filtered and sorted the information. As Vanaar processed the data, another thought called upon the operational data of the Grand Core.

And he got the final analysis.

_Not good,_ was the warlord's first thought.

Then Vanaar got a shock.

* * *

The sensation hit Kiir like a jackhammer in the head. For a while he felt nearly as disoriented as when Eefrit had punched him, before his mind began to clear up once more.

_The hell?_ Kiir wondered as the sensation persisted. It was as though someone had decided to activate a Core Trinity system while he was inspecting the Cores at close range.

_Hyperspatial anomaly perhaps,_ the scientist thought as he focused on filtering out the sensation, categorizing it as "background noise."

Then he thought otherwise.

* * *

Talos heard the footsteps and jerked up from his short slumber. Sure enough, the Agemo named Voer and his escort stepped out of the shadows and stopped in front of his cell's force field. Voer took one glance at the Progenitor disk and seemed to fume for a moment before his calm exterior covered all once more.

"I see… Thank you for answering my question," Voer stated calmly, "Now, I hope I managed to imprint upon you the fact that we dislike deception, because this act is quite unacceptable to us."

Talos didn't answer, choosing only to stare coldly at the robed monster before him.

"Well, since you have effectively provided whatever information we require by using _that_, then I suppose we have no more use for you," Voer commented in a voice that was almost cheerful before sighing slightly, "Pity we can't make you into a vessel – such sly and deceiving methods could well affect the mind we choose to implant."

Talos saw the guard lift a bionic arm and tap a button on it. Then the force field began shrinking inwards rapidly.

"I'm afraid then, that we will have to dispose of you."

He knew what his fate would be, for he had tried various means of escape – one of which was to throw an object at the force field, which did nothing but to vaporize the object as it impacted the wall of energy. And so he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable.

A loud crackling noise startled his eyes open, and Talos saw the shimmering force field warping and bending around another shimmering field of sorts, creating a cacophony of sound and colour. Then a sudden bang accompanied the dissipation of the force field, leaving behind a translucent shimmering field of cerulean.

Voer looked visibly surprised.

"A quantum distortion field," the Agemo commented, "How thoughtful of your Progenitor masters."

"Sir, we can't nullify the field from inside here," the guard mentioned, "None of our internal defences are strong enough to do so."

"It doesn't matter – that device can't possibly have enough reserves to sustain the field for long," Voer shrugged, "We'll just wait for the disk to deplete, and then the field will collapse by itself."

Turning back to the surprised and relieved Talos, Voer gave a mechanical smile, "I'm sorry – I'd so much wanted to present you a gift, but we ran out of despair some time ago. So you'll just have to settle for death I'm afra…"

Voer paused mid-sentence and raised an eyebrow in shock.

Then a muffled explosion reverberated through the megalith.

"My lord, we are under attack," the guard mentioned almost immediately, "Sensors indicate a Progenitor warship. It is very similar in design to that of a Keeper, only that…"

"I already know," Voer responded sharply, "Take all necessary defensive action and destroy it at once."

Voer stepped silently aside, allowing a holographic viewscreen to shimmer into view before Talos. The Frerrn minister saw the ship, which could have easily been mistaken for a Keeper. However, Talos knew it was not, for not only was it slightly larger – its speed and manoeuvrability were very much greater than that of the standard Keeper. Yet, the Agemo didn't seem impressed.

"Watch as your God's forces burns in purgatory," Voer smiled as a mighty beam of light shot towards the Progenitor ship.

The Agemo was taken aback by what had happened next. Instead of a brilliant explosion signifying the death of the warship, the vessel faded to become translucent against the dark backdrop of stars, causing the beam to pass harmlessly through the ship.

"Sir, the Progenitors have engaged a phase-shift," the guard quickly said, almost as though he were getting instantaneous updates from the ship's systems, "We can recalibrate our weapons to hit it, but we will require time…"

"You have ten seconds exactly," Voer responded gruffly, "Failing which…"

But Voer never managed to finish his sentence, for he suddenly noticed strong gusts emanating from Talos. Turning to face the minister, the Agemo only saw a brilliant blue portal engulfing both Talos and the disk. Moments later, the portal vanished with a sucking sound, leaving nothing in its wake.

* * *

"Where am I," was all that Talos managed to say amidst the confusion of his sudden journey through an unknown portal.

"Do not be unduly alarmed – it is quite common for one to be disoriented by the quantum tunnel journey," a soothing voice came in from somewhere in his blurred vision, "You are now in safe hands."

Talos shook his head a few times, trying to shed the disorientation and willing his eyes to focus. When he did, he found himself face-to-face with an elegant lady clothed in some unknown fleet uniform.

"Prime Minister Talos I presume," the lady smiled as she grasped Talos' arm to help him up, "You may call me Driss. Welcome aboard the _Templar_."

* * *

"The prime minister has been successfully transferred," the ship's holographic avatar spoke, "Your orders, Captain?"

"We've stayed here long enough," the Progenitor captain replied from his seat as he watched the megalith fire all its weapons at them, as though a sheer quantity of firepower could touch a ship that was out of phase with reality. "_Templar_, take us home."

"Affirmative."

* * *

The _Templar_ continued to move casually past the megalith, the Agemo's weapons fire passing harmlessly through the faded image of the vessel. Then the ship reverted to full opacity, becoming engulfed by a brilliant yellow light.

By then the megalith had recalibrated its weapons successfully and fired again, the beams of destructive force leaping towards the _Templar_ and converging on empty space as the ship streaked quickly away.

* * *

Voer watched silently as his prey escaped to faster-than-light velocities. While he was annoyed by the sudden rescue, he was also grateful for the live demonstration of capabilities. He would now not make the mistake of underestimating the might of the Progenitor vessels.

"My lord, Intelligence reports that they have successfully disabled and hacked into the Progenitor infiltration nanites," Voer's guard suddenly interjected, "We now have the approximate location of the Progenitor survivors. Should we attack?"

"We should strike fast and hard, but now is not yet the time," Voer spoke slowly as he continued gazing at the empty void of space, "However it may be ideal to send in a scout force – two or three Spheres perhaps."

"It will be done at once," the guard replied as he bowed and retreated from sight.

* * *

As the Grand Core dropped his fleet to normal space, Vanaar took a moment to consider what had hit his mind so hard earlier. It was a sensation he had not felt except around the time when the reformation of Hiigara was supposedly taking place. The power involved was almost unimaginable – like an entire dimension had been created from nothing and banished to oblivion just as quickly.

"_So you felt it too?"_ Kiir's voice suddenly rang loud and clear in his mind.

"I see you're preferring this means of communication after all," Vanaar smiled, "Meanwhile I wonder what was it exactly that caused your absence during the meeting."

"_Let us not talk about that – I'm here in my capacity as a scientist,"_ Kiir responded, _"Are you willing to cooperate?"_

"Why of course," Vanaar replied mentally as he began piloting the _Scimitar_ towards the docking ports on the _Sajuuk Khar_.

"_I'll get straight to the point – I initially suspected a hyperspatial anomaly, but there's no way an entire dimension could have just appeared and disappeared so suddenly, or at least that was the impression I got."_

"As did I," Vanaar answered, "So do you have any possible explanations for that?"

"_I took the trouble to obtain a recording of your suggestions regarding the Eastern Wall, about the absence of hyperspace and all those details,"_ Kiir began, _"The nature of the Wall means that current FTL solutions will not work for lack of the hyperspace dimension to begin with."_

"That is correct," Vanaar responded, "Therefore?"

"_The only way for a ship to go FTL in that vicinity using some form of hyperspace travel would be for the ship's drive to artificially generate a hyperspatial dimension around itself,"_ Kiir suggested, _"Though it stretches even my imagination to consider how one can even create an entire dimension from nothingness."_

"So, you propose that what we felt was a ship using its jump drive to surpass the Wall?" Vanaar noted, "An interesting proposition, Hiigara'sa."

"_I'm afraid it's just Kiir, not Hiigara'sa anymore,"_ came the reply.

"What?"

"_I think we'll continue this conversation another time, supreme commander,"_ Kiir quickly added as he broke the telepathic link.

The _Scimitar_ shivered as the _Sajuuk Khar_'s tractor beams latched onto its hull, tethering the ship to the massive space station. As the Vaygr techs opened the core to begin the extraction process, Vanaar began considering the various violent methods he could use to knock sense into his closest ally.


	22. Omega

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 21: OMEGA**

* * *

"The _Templar_?" Talos asked in puzzlement as he tried to shed the last of the disorientation, trying to identify the fleet uniform that the lady Driss was dressed in, "I'm sorry – I cannot discern the fleet or force from which you hail…"

"That is to be expected," Driss commented as she led him to the door, "None of your kind have seen us in millennia."

"I beg your pardon?"

Then Talos paused as the realization hit him suddenly like a bullet to the head. He stared in wide-eyed shock at the lady before him, who responded by chuckling slightly.

"I see that the disorientation has finally worn off," Driss mentioned cheerily as the door opened before them.

"This ship, the _Templar_, belongs to the Progenitor Empire," Driss said before sighing slightly, "Or rather, what's left of it."

Talos remained silent for a moment, afraid to speak about the sensitive issue of the Progenitor Civil War. So he tried changing the subject.

"If I remember correctly, your ship was able to evade the attack earlier on by means of something the Agemo called a 'phase-shift…'"

"You certainly are observant," Driss noted as she led Talos down the sleekly-designed corridors of the Progenitor ship, "Phase-shift technology is something we've only managed to master in the recent decade – a step-up from standard phasing technology if you will. I'm afraid that's all I can disclose for the moment. Right now it is imperative that you meet with the captain. He has some questions for you."

"It will not be an interrogation I hope?" Talos suddenly asked in a worried tone.

"Of course not," Driss laughed when she saw the look on the minister's face, "I'm sure you've had quite enough of that while in Agemo custody. Anyway, there will only be polite conversation as long as you are in our care."

"I am glad to hear that," Talos sighed in relief as they entered what appeared to be an elevator of sorts, only that (he realized a second too late) there was no floor. As Driss stepped out onto the level they had levitated to, she realized that Talos was pale with shock.

"Oh, I apologise for not giving ample warning," she quickly said as she gripped the frozen minister and slowly led him away from the floorless shaft, "You needn't worry though – there are ample safety measures in place if the quantum distortions fail."

"That is… reassuring," Talos managed to say as he recollected his composure, "It was just a rather unnerving experience, considering it was my first time…"

"But it is definitely a more efficient elevation system," Driss mentioned as she continued on down the corridor, "It allows simultaneous upward and downward transport of multiple personnel from different levels. Though it admittedly takes up quite a bit more power, the general consensus is that the efficiency permitted far outweigh the costs."

Talos nodded as he observed that the corridor was beginning to widen as they moved along. Then they suddenly entered a stretch where the walls, ceiling and floor were completely transparent so as to give the impression that one was walking high above a beautiful lush garden below. Vines and trunks of every conceivable length and shape stretched out across the circular hall which was about a hundred metres in diameter. Talos managed to spot some familiar plants, but many others were unknown species.

"What you see below is the ship's garden," Driss commented, "It's not very big, but sufficient to fit our needs."

"Does every Progenitor ship come equipped with one?" Talos asked.

"So long as it is at least a destroyer class vessel," Driss clarified, "Our people spend copious amounts of time in space, so it becomes necessary to integrate some planetside scenery into our vessels."

Then the magnificent view of natural splendour disappeared as they exited the transparent stretch of corridor, arriving at a reinforced security door which opened automatically when Driss approached it.

"Welcome to the bridge."

* * *

_Orders received, coordinate data received, processing data…_

_Processing complete. Primary objective: Reconnaissance._

_Coordinates locked in._

_Engaging timespace drive._

* * *

The fabric of space began to shudder as the three Spheres powered up their FTL drives. Then a countering force emanated from the nearby megalith, dampening the dimensional fluctuations until there was scarcely a vibration.

Voer watched as the wormholes began opening before the Spheres. For a few seconds, the Spheres took some time to reorient themselves for the jumps. Then the massive ships plunged forward into the swirling depths of space and time, vanishing from view.

The first step.

* * *

The _Templar_'s bridge was a spacious place with multiple holographic viewscreens hanging in mid-air before the various crew stations. In fact, Talos was surprised that the Progenitors were not fully Unbound despite their technology, choosing to use manned bridges as a form of centralized command for the ship.

Then Talos noticed a Progenitor standing just beside a slightly larger seat in the centre of the bridge. From the small differences in the uniform and the fact that there seemed to be a commanding air about him, Talos guessed that it was the captain.

"Prime Minister Talos of the Frerrn Aggregate," the captain greeted in a voice that surged with confidence and authority, "I am Captain Ein, and it is a relief to see that you are safe."

"I am most grateful for your intervention," Talos answered as he observed the Progenitor before him. Captain Ein was powerfully built yet surprisingly agile in his movements.

"Actually, we should be the grateful ones," the captain replied as he gestured for Talos to take a seat, "If it were not for your brave actions, we would not have obtained such crucial data regarding the Agemo. Please, take a seat."

"Thank you," Talos responded as he made himself comfortable in a seat next to the captain's, "Now I hope it is possible that you could enlighten me as to my current situation."

"Why of course," another voice suddenly echoed through the bridge as a robed monk-like figure suddenly shimmered into view before them, startling Talos slightly.

"And this is _Templar_ himself," Ein introduced casually.

"_Templar_?" Talos asked in a puzzled voice, "I'm sorry – I don't quite understand…"

"_Templar_ is a sentient ship," Driss explained from behind, "In fact, most of our ships are, with the exception of those under Unbound control."

"Thank you for the explanation Lady Driss," _Templar_ spoke, "Now, if the Captain approves…"

"Go ahead _Templar_," Ein responded.

The robed avatar nodded and turned to face Talos, who was slightly disturbed by the hologram's lack of a face. Or rather, what seemed to be so, for the hood was drawn over the head sufficiently such that _Templar_'s face could not be seen – almost like the religious monks of ancient times.

"We are currently en route to an outpost in the western buffer," _Templar_ began, "We will arrive in two minutes and thirty-seven seconds."

"The western buffer?" Talos asked.

"I am referring to the hyperspatial exclusion zone that separates your galaxy from ours," _Templar_ explained, "I believe you are unaware that your galaxy is one of two."

"To clarify: M51 is a twin galaxy," Driss added, "We hid ourselves in the second galaxy, M51-B, as well as used advanced cloaking methods to hide M51-B from view."

"As an additional failsafe, hyperspace was displaced for a distance of one hundred light years so as to prevent any old mode of hyperspace travel into M51-B." _Templar_ added.

"Wait – hyperspace was disabled for a hundred light years?" Talos stared incredulously at _Templar_.

"That is correct."

"But why was it done?" Talos demanded, "Your people hid away in safety and watched while crises ripped through our galaxy?"

"We could not reveal ourselves too early lest we bring our existence to the knowledge of the Agemo," Ein mentioned, "In those times we were greatly weakened by the Civil War, as well as continual attacks by rebels hidden in our ranks. Contrary to what you might think, true peace did not come until around a few decades ago."

"But still…"

"The risk was too great," Driss interjected, "You must remember that the _Qwaar Jet_ was still in enemy hands at the time. Had we intervened, we would have taken considerable losses – something we cannot afford with the threat of the Mythra and Agemo."

"Look, our galaxy was on the verge of being overrun many times in the past," Talos argued, "Had that come to pass, you would have more to worry about than just the Mythra and the Agemo!"

"But it didn't," Ein replied calmly, "Furthermore, if I might add, the threats your galaxy faced in the past are nothing compared with the Agemo."

"I see there is no point in arguing any further," Talos said as he stood up from his seat, "If I may be excused – I don't think I can continue with this conversation any longer."

"Captain, we will be arriving at Outpost W7E in fifteen seconds," _Templar_ announced emotionlessly, completely ignoring Talos.

"Standard procedures then," Ein ordered as he turned to face the Frerrn minister, "And of course you may be excused, though I highly recommend that you remain seated while we disengage FTL."

Talos decided to take the captain's advice, strapping himself in and then waiting for the return to normal space. To his surprise, the _Templar_ dropped back to relativistic speeds with scarcely a wobble.

"Just a safety formality," Ein shrugged when he saw Talos release his seatbelts, "We occasionally run into anomalies that compromise the ship's stability during transition."

"I thank you for your concern," Talos answered coldly as he strode towards the exit.

"Lady Driss will show you to your resting quarters," Ein added as he saw her move hurriedly after Talos.

* * *

Talos was silent as he followed Driss down the corridor towards his designated quarters. The conversation had shaken his confidence in the Progenitors and he didn't know what to make of things now. Another side of him tried to argue for the Progenitors' case – perhaps they did have their difficulties, perhaps they were too busy dealing with their own problems to help. But he just couldn't accept the fact that they had been watching from afar, more than capable of intervening and assisting the galactic races, but chose instead to do nothing.

"I don't know how to explain this to you," Driss suddenly broke the silence, "I understand your disappointment, but those were indeed troubling times…"

"Troubling times?" Talos scoffed, "The only reason we hung back from the fray was because you had told us to! I ventured to think that you had offered no assistance because your people had no power to do so, because it was determined that there would be no trouble in overcoming the crises…"

"We could not send help - it was imperative that we conserve our firepower for what is yet to come," Driss replied.

"What is yet to come?" Talos asked skeptically, "I watched as the Alliance fought to stop the Neo-Beast from overrunning the galaxy, watched as thousands, millions lost their lives to stop the plague. You had the power to step in, to reduce the number of lives lost…"

"You haven't seen what the Agemo are capable of," Driss answered, "Therefore, you cannot understand our actions. We need every last weapon to beat them, and losing resources to intervene in a lesser battle would only cause us to lose the war."

"I watched a battle between this ship and a megalith," Talos commented, "I don't see how much trouble you would have using a full fleet."

Driss stopped to face Talos, who wore the faintest vestiges of a triumphant smirk on his face, yet took great care to hide it from the Progenitor. He expected Driss to acknowledge that they as a civilization had made serious mistakes.

"I presume you understand the nature of the Agemo?" Driss finally asked.

"I lost a trusted aide to one of them, so I suppose you can say I understand the horrors completely," came the reply.

"Then I have something to show you."

* * *

A planet and its orbiting moon – a perfectly natural sight, except the moon was not natural.

Defence ships, tiny in comparison, flitted around the moon-sized warship, trying in vain to bring the vessel down. To add insult to injury, the various megaliths of the Agemo remained motionless alongside the battle moon, taking no action against the planet's defence fleet.

Then an eerie white glow enveloped the battle moon as some device was activated. As the glow intensified, it enveloped the attacking defence ships, causing them to spiral wildly out of control and crash against an energy field protecting the moon's hull. At this juncture it became obvious that the glow was not intensifying uniformly, but such that part of the light began protruding towards the planet that stayed helplessly in place.

As the light touched the atmosphere, the glow spread wildly around the planet, engulfing it in a soft white glow. The intensification ceased, though Talos could make out the faintest signs of some energy streaming away into the light.

And then the glow dimmed away, dissipating until all was seemingly normal once again.

* * *

"What have I just seen?" Talos asked as the holographic video ended and the lights in his quarters brightened once more.

"The Agemo must have taken the trouble to demonstrate their consciousness transfer technology," Driss began.

"Yes they did."

"Well then, you have just witnessed a procedure conducted at the planetary scale."

"Planetary?!" Talos guffawed in shock, "So you mean to say that all those people were just converted?"

"Worse than converted," Driss sighed, "Now I'm not supposed to share this information with you, well at least not for now, but we did do some research on their deeds."

The Progenitor paused for a moment, her face slightly twisted with mixed emotions. Was it sadness, horror, disgust? Talos did not know.

"Stealth probes captured some vital footage and data, and it seems that their only objective is not just to seek out new vessels, but also new fuels, new energy sources to power their main weapon."

_Fuels?_ Talos reeled slightly as the thought entered his mind.

"The Agemo have highly advanced technology and devices, but they do not possess the knowledge to design power sources like quantum tappers. What they do know of is, and I'm afraid my knowledge is fairly limited in this area, the power of the psyche."

"The psyche?"

"Our scientists didn't think it was possible, that such a concept was even possible to begin with," Driss continued, "But it seems that the psyche is not some tale of fiction, at least for the Agemo. And if the data from the stealth probes prove true, then it is possible to conclude that all of their energy is derived from the psyche."

"Therefore, they harvest the consciousness as though it were nothing more than a simple fossil fuel," Talos managed to murmur a horrified reply.

"That is correct," Driss answered, "And while it seems that the consciousness is only used as a power source for their megaliths, the same cannot be said for their flagship."

"Their flagship? You mean that moon?"

"We believe it is so," Driss replied with some doubt in her voice, "And I have been briefed that the flagship uses the psyche as a weapon, though further details are either unknown or have not been revealed to us. But even then it is easy to see the destructive potential if such energy could be harnessed."

"I presume Sajuuk would have this information?" Talos asked.

"Yes he does, and you will be meeting him soon enough," Driss smiled as she got up to take her leave, "I hope you now understand our fear and caution of the Agemo."

"Yes, and I do apologise for the insensitivity shown earlier."

"It is understandable," Driss replied as the doors began to close before her, "Now, I would advise you to rest well. There is much that awaits you later on."

* * *

"Three Spheres?" Ein considered thoughtfully.

They will pass our position in a minute's time, _Templar_ added, With the assistance of the Outpost's defence forces we should have no trouble halting them.

"Your opinions on this, commander?" Ein asked as he turned to face the commander's holographic avatar.

I concur – the Spheres cannot be allowed to penetrate beyond this point, the commander responded, We are raising the interruption fields now.

With the interruption field activated, I predict that the Spheres will emerge into normal space at these coordinates, _Templar_ spoke as the necessary data was updated on the sensors display.

"Then bring us to maximum alert," Ein ordered, "All hands to battlestations!"


	23. Interlude: The Premonition

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**INTERLUDE: THE PREMONITION**

* * *

  
_Agony._

_Unimaginably torturous agony._

_Agony that pierces every molecule and atom of your existence._

_That was how it felt like when I died._

_I didn't think it was possible – here I was in the full grasp of Immortality, ready to exert my will across all existence for all time._

_And then I died by my own hand._

_Ironic, isn't it?_

_I thought that everything would end when the pain ended - all my dreams and desires vanquished from all existence._

_Imagine my surprise when the pain ended._

_I still existed, albeit in a fairly odd way._

_Looking back, I laugh at the sheer stupidity and idiocy of my enemies._

_So clever and wise, isn't it, to kill me by sending me into oblivion._

_Did it not occur to them that my ancestors thrived in oblivion?_

_I now exist for one purpose and one purpose alone. For this purpose, I have been slowly regrouping myself, gathering and consolidating the scattered bits of my existence, preparing to meet my maker and my enemies, the ones who banished me here._

_I suppose those __other creeps will soften them up nicely. Terrifying methods, even by my standards, but I won't object. Not when the targets are the ones who imprisoned me here._

_No wonder they say revenge is a dish best served cold._


	24. Exiled

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 22: EXILED**

* * *

_"Timespace transition halted by anomaly, returning to normal space."_

_"Sensors activated, scanning for source of anomaly…"_

_"Source located. Ancient fleet detected. Initiating tactical analysis…"_

_"Tactical analysis outcome: Indeterminate. Ancient ship configurations not in database."_

_"Attempting to reactivate timespace drive according to Primary objective…"_

_"Reactivation failed. Anomaly is preventing timespace jump."_

_"Primary objective: Reconnaissance, unachievable. Switching to Primary directive: Destruction of all Ancient technology."_

_"All battle systems engaged."_

* * *

"All three Spheres are launching assault fleets," _Templar_ announced as he displayed the necessary information on the sensors display, "Shall I engage phase-shift?" 

"That will not be necessary _Templar_," Ein replied calmly as he saw the display fill with red dots representing the Mythra forces, "Mythra technology is hardly a threat to us. Raise shields to fifty percent power and divert remaining resources to weapons and thrust."

"Affirmative, raising primary distortion field and secondary energy shield to fifty percent, remaining power diverted to weapons grid and hyperfield drive."

All eyes were fixed on the primary viewscreen as the automated ships came closer and closer. The Mythra swarm easily outnumbered their forces two to one, but they had superior technology on their side.

The Mythra opened fire, releasing the full force of their ionic shock weapons onto the Progenitor taskforce. The bolts and pulses of energy streaked forward, shimmering with all the visible colours in the spectrum, slamming against the quivering barriers that shielded the Progenitor warships.

Ein scarcely felt a wobble.

"Primary distortion field at forty-eight point two percent and holding," _Templar_ announced nonchalantly when the ship came under fire, "Initiating counterattack routines."

As _Templar_ finished his sentence, his physical self fired off the point defences at its disposal. Tightly-focused ion beams shot out of opened cannon ports across the destroyer's hull, warping and bending according to gravitational forces that connected each beam to its target with pinpoint accuracy. The focused ionic energy washed over the hulls of six frigates, devouring the hull armour ravenously before finally ending the ships' existence.

Then the rest of the Progenitor fleet followed suit, various high energy ion beams firing off into space as the point defences began tracking with disturbing efficiency. Ein watched silently as the violet-coloured beams slashed through the oncoming wave of Mythra ships, bringing swift destruction to every ship they touched. The whirring sound of the bridge doors caught the captain's attention, turning his gaze from the battle to his first officer who had just returned to the bridge.

"How is the prime minister?" Ein asked as she proceeded to take her seat at her station.

"He has calmed down considerably," Driss replied as she began to tap away at her console, "I believe it would be best if he speaks with Sir Sajuuk as soon as possible."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Ein noted, "The _Aaraan_ is only a few minutes away by hyperstream: as soon as the coast is clear here, he will come as planned."

"Very well – we should deal with the Mythra quickly then," Driss answered as she glanced at the tactical display at the centre of the bridge, "_Templar_, what is the status of the battle at present?"

"The Mythra strike craft are down to thirty-five percent of their original numbers and they have lost about a quarter of their capital ships," _Templar_ updated, "We have taken no losses so far."

"And the Spheres?"

"The Spheres are remaining in the rear," _Templar _replied in a slightly puzzled tone, "However I do not understand why they are not using their primary ionic shock cannons."

"They must think they can beat us with their fleets alone," Ein began to smile as he watched the Mythra lose ship after ship to the ion beam point defences, "At this rate, we could win this battle by just maintaining our current position."

"But we should finish this as quickly as possible captain," Driss reminded, "We should take the initiative and attack the Spheres directly."

"I concur," _Templar_ agreed immediately, "Current tactical analysis shows overwhelming odds in our favour."

"Very well – _Templar_, transmit our attack plans to the defence forces," Ein gave the order calmly, "Set course for the nearest Sphere, full evasive."

* * *

Klaxons and announcements had alerted Talos to the fact that the _Templar_ was currently engaged in combat with the Mythra, so he had decided to remain in his quarters and wait out the battle. Surprisingly, the ship seemed perfectly stable and unaffected by any weapon impact, save for the almost imperceptible vibration every now and then – a testament to the highly-effective defensive technologies of the Progenitors. 

Talos walked up to the holographic computer console seated in a corner of the room. It was the same console that Driss had used earlier to show him the other atrocities of the Agemo. After studying the plain-looking piece of glossy metal that was the console's interface for a few moments, he placed a hand on the panel to see what would happen.

The panel glowed slightly and a slight tingle ran through Talos' hand. Then the tingling stopped as the panel lit up with a holographic interface that was Frerrn in design and thus familiar enough for Talos to use.

_Intriguing_, he thought, _But I wonder what kind of access privileges I am entitled to…_

Talos decided to key in the first thought that came to his mind – a status report on their current situation. To his surprise, the computer complied and presented him with a holographic view of whatever was taking place outside. As the scenes shimmered into view, the prime minister received the shock of his life.

_This is not a battle – it's a slaughter!_

The _Templar_, along with the rest of the Progenitor forces, was advancing steadily towards the Spheres in spite of the resistance put up by the Mythra fleets. While the ionic shock weapons were only good for creating lightshows on the Progenitor quantum distortion fields, the same could not be said for the Progenitor ships' point defences, which were casually shooting the Mythra capital ships to pieces.

Then a crimson light caught Talos' eye, causing him to turn around and watch as the Spheres powered up their primary cannons. He stared blankly for a while, unsure if the blasts would deal serious damage to the nonchalant Progenitor forces. The Spheres' primary weapons were usually fairly devastating to ships of the Frerrn and Alliance forces. The cannons fired and Talos instinctively gripped the console in anticipation of the shudders that would be caused by the energy shockwaves.

There was a muffled noise that sounded like a snuffed out explosion, accompanied by some vibrations that seemed disproportionately weak compared with the cannons' destructive force. When he opened his eyes to see what had happened, there was only the scene of the crimson energy dissipating against some additional barrier that had sprung up in front of the Progenitor fleet.

* * *

_"Primary weapons fired, outcome: minimal effect on Ancient ships."_

_"Attempting to determine cause of weapons ineffectiveness…"_

_"Cause located, quantum distortion field located around fleet, source: frigate-class ships near frontlines, designs unknown."_

_"Tactical situation disadvantageous, defeat by Ancients possible."_

_"Switching to Secondary directive…"_

* * *

"Captain, I am registering energy spikes on all three Spheres," _Templar_ spoke up suddenly, the form of his holographic avatar raising a hand and summoning up a holographic viewscreen filled with sensor readouts, "Preliminary analysis suggests a possible self-destruct sequence." 

"Self-destruct sequence?" Ein suddenly perked up, "Any idea what kind of damage we could be facing?"

"Past records indicate that unshielded ships received moderate damage," _Templar_ shrugged nonchalantly, "However, the energy spikes seem to be confined to the Spheres' timespace drive systems this time. It seems possible that the Spheres will attempt a timespace disruption."

"Timespace disruption?" the captain's face paled slightly.

"Captain, if that is the case, then it may be wise for us to withdraw," Driss suggested after glancing over the sensor readouts provided by _Templar_, "There's no telling how destructive a disruption event could be, since we have had no prior experience of such a manoeuvre."

"But we cannot lose the outpost," Ein reminded as his face furrowed into a frown, "Losing W7E would allow future incursions to penetrate further into the buffer."

"Then we should gather the fleet around the outpost and synchronise distortion fields," _Templar_ answered calmly, "Though I cannot say for sure if it will be enough, given our lack of data on such occurrences."

"Then make it so," the captain ordered, "Driss, regarding the rest of the fleet…"

"I've just received a message from Commander Duran regarding the matter," Driss responded, "They seem to be thinking the same thing."

"That simplifies things," Ein smiled slightly, "_Templar_, proceed with the plan."

The bridge quivered slightly as _Templar_ responded instantaneously and executed a sharp high velocity turn, bringing the outpost into plain view before them. Then there was a shiver as the hyperfield drive warped space and accelerated the destroyer towards the outpost. The rest of the fleet followed suit, manoeuvring away from the Spheres and heading for the defensive formations.

* * *

The holographic display shut off abruptly, replaced by a simple message informing Talos to strap himself in for safety reasons. Deciding to obey the instruction, he got to a seat and yanked out the safety straps.

* * *

"We are in position," _Templar _announced, "Rerouting systems power to primary distortion field…" 

"The rest of the fleet is moving into formation," Driss added, glancing back at Ein with a little fear in her face.

"Power reroute complete, synchronising distortion fields… " _Templar_ continued, its voice emotionless as ever in the face of three Spheres in self-destruct sequence, "Energy spikes approaching critical levels, emergency phase-shift standing by."

Captain Ein continued to stare at the viewscreen intensely, watching as the dots of light illuminating the Spheres' surfaces flickered and died. Slowly but steadily, the Spheres faded from view as they blacked out against the backdrop of empty space.

Then the viewscreen went blindingly white.

* * *

For the briefest moment, there was a surge of light that outshone every other star in the empty void. Pure energy radiated outwards from the three points of detonation, washing across the rippling fabric of space time itself. The light connected with the boundaries of the invisible field, halting momentarily before trampling through the defences like they never existed – to the horror of the watching Progenitors and their sentient ships. 

The cry of thousands echoed across the channels as the frontline vessels were instantly vaporised. The most fortunate were able to escape to hyperstream, the faster-than-light drives barely keeping the ships ahead of the energy surge. The others could only straddle two dimensions as they engaged phase-shift, praying that it would be enough for them to ride out the dimensional chaos safely.

* * *

Another artificial gravity failure, the third within a minute, inverted Ein's stomach and trashed his balance. He gritted his teeth and clasped the sides of his seat tightly as the ship struggled to restore gravity even as it was being walloped by dimensional forces everywhere. If not for the straps he would have been bleeding to death on the floor long ago. 

"_Templar_?" Ein managed to call out amidst the noise of stations crackling as they overloaded from power surges.

The hologram managed to shimmer into view, but only just. It seemed to take all of _Templar_'s strength to just maintain a barely coherent image of his being.

"Captain, structural stress is reaching critical levels," _Templar_ reported in a voice laced with considerable audio distortion, "Hyperstream drive is overloading, and… and the dimensional fields are on the verge of collapse. Captain, I won't be able to maintain phase-shift for much longer…"

And then the avatar disappeared, as though heaving out that last sentence had drained it of all its strength. Captain Ein regarded the blank viewscreen grimly – the energy surge had knocked out most of their sensor capability, so they were now quite blind in space.

"Sir, according to what's left of the sensors, it seems we're being pulled into the core of the anomaly," Driss reported from her barely functional console.

"Any idea what'll happen when we drift inside?" Ein asked, afraid of the answer.

"Uncertain, the sensors aren't able to tell me much," Driss answered in a drained voice, "There is considerable gravimetric disruption in there though…"

"How much time do we have?"

"Twenty, maybe thirty seconds?"

"Then all we can do is pray and wait," Ein replied, closing his eyes and clasping his hands together.

The artificial gravity gave out for good, causing everyone to float upwards in their seats. As the audible screams of the destroyer's chassis grew louder under the stress, the crew of the _Templar_ awaited the inevitable in silence.

And then the ship lurched sickeningly as it was caught in the full grasp of the anomaly, the g-forces pinning everyone down with excruciating force…

* * *

The news beamed directly into Voer's mind, surprising him slightly – for he had not expected an outcome to be arrived at so soon. 

Images of the Spheres putting up a futile resistance against the Progenitors flashed through his consciousness. He saw the ionic shock bolts impacting and scattering harmlessly against the invisible vestiges of the Progenitor distortion fields. Meanwhile, the Progenitor ships fought back with amazing force, cutting down the Mythra numbers more efficiently than he had hoped for.

And then came the report on the initiated self-destruct. He considered it for a few moments, then flooded the megalith's systems with a flurry of commands.

Nine portals opened up before nine Spheres, the megalith's dimension-manipulation systems dampening out the space time disruptions as they did so. And then, one by one, the Spheres plunged through the portals towards their destinations and targets…

* * *

When Talos managed to open his eyes, he looked straight into the glare of the ceiling lights and was hit by the most excruciating headache imaginable. He groaned and tried to raise a hand to his forehead, only to jerk and curse when a sharp agony pierced the limb in question. 

"Don't move," a gruff voice came from somewhere, "Your injuries are quite serious."

"What…" Talos struggled to articulate the words as he tried to focus his aching eyes, "What the hell happened?"

"Partial ceiling collapse," the voice replied, "You were lucky though – only your right arm and leg were fractured. A little bit more and your head wouldn't be a nice sight."

Groaning slightly as the pain racketed through his fatigued body, Talos blinked several times and finally managed to get a glimpse of the source of the voice. He saw a lanky man dressed in what seemed to be some sort of medical attire.

"You'll be fine once we get the regenerators back on," the man commented, "Until then, rest well."

Talos felt a slight prick to his neck, and then the darkness claimed him once again.

* * *

"Captain, you're not in any condition," Driss advised, wincing slightly as the medic bandaged her shoulder, "You should leave the bridge to us." 

"You're all not faring any better either," Ein replied, gritting his teeth as a dressing was placed on an extensive and deep burn across his muscled chest, "How's _Templar_?"

"The computer core is still intact, though he's in emergency shutdown mode for safety reasons, at least until basic repairs can be completed," came the reply, "No idea when he could be up again."

"Well I suppose he could use a rest every now and then," Ein shrugged his aching shoulders, only to wince again as the movement caused his chest to flare up again. The medic, annoyed by the sudden movement, gave him a piercing glare. Ein took the hint and lay dead still on the seat.

"Apologies for the temporary absence," _Templar_'s voice suddenly crackled in from what few functional speakers there remained on the bridge, "Safety protocols were in effect."

"It feels strange to be talking to a voice from nowhere in particular," Ein commented when he noticed the absence of _Templar_'s holographic avatar.

"Holographic emitters are offline, but visual details are of no significance to myself," the ship answered nonchalantly, "It may interest you to note that intermediate repairs to the sensors have been completed."

"That's good to hear," Ein answered, "What's the status of the fleet and the outpost?"

"Unknown."

"Unknown? Didn't you say the sensors were working again?"

"I did, but your question is based on the assumption that the fleet and the outpost are within sensors range, in which case I would be in a position to comment on their statuses. However…"

"Get to the point _Templar_," Ein muttered with a hint of annoyance in his voice, "What is the situation?"

"…There is a discrepancy between our current position and pre-anomaly coordinates."

"A discrepancy?" Ein cocked an eyebrow in surprise to no one in particular, "Clarify."

"…It would seem that we are in the Great Beyond, for I'm not picking up any constellations or star formations in visual range. Further repairs to the sensors will be need if we are to…"

"What?!"


	25. The Great Beyond

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 23: THE GREAT BEYOND**

* * *

  
Captain Ein strode anxiously back onto the bridge, all traces of the third-degree burn gone from his chest. All that remained was a slight tingling feeling that would dissipate with time – an impressive result made possible by the advanced medical technologies of the Progenitors. But his recovery meant little to him. When _Templar_ had announced that they were somewhere in the Great Beyond, it only meant that they were probably a very great distance from home.

The Great Beyond referred to the unimaginable swathes and stretches of empty space that existed between galaxies – a dead zone for any form of life. For these regions could be said to be true vacuums completely devoid of any elements or stellar activity necessary for the formation of star systems and habitable zones of space. For these reasons, even the great Progenitor Empire of old was constricted to the boundaries of the galaxies it controlled, with only the odd research station or observation outpost to be found in this empty void.

Had they made their way here in optimal condition, the situation would not have been so dire. However, _Templar_ had taken considerable damage to its mass-energy converters, severely restricting their ability to conduct complete repairs owing to the lack of raw materials to work with. So while it was fortunate that the quantum energy core had escaped damage, it merely meant that they were now stuck with tremendous amounts of energy but no efficient way of converting it to matter.

"Status of the selective repairs?" Ein asked, hoping that at least some work would be accomplishable despite the material shortage.

"Well, we've done what we could," Driss replied from her newly-repaired console, "We have full sensor and drive functionality as well as power to the secondary shield systems. However…"

"…with the exception of the point defences, which are at fifty percent efficiency, other systems are either inoperable or at minimum efficiency," _Templar_ suddenly cut in, managing to materialize a blurred hologram of its avatar, "There is also still considerable internal and external structural damage that cannot be repaired in the current situation, meaning that we will be disadvantaged in combat situations."

"There really is no other way to restore the converters?" Ein asked again as he got into his seat.

"Not with the materials we have on hand," _Templar_ shook his head, "We will require a proper harvest operation to obtain the necessary raw mass."

"In that case, we should start making our way out of here," Ein commented, "Have you confirmed our location, _Templar_?"

"After extensive scans of the nature of space in this region, I have concluded that we are approximately one hundred thousand light years from the galaxy M63," came the cool reply, "Visual scanners were unable to pick up anything beforehand because there is a dense dust cloud obscuring M63's outskirts."

"M63?!" Driss suddenly exclaimed, the gravity of their situation sinking in deeply, "The anomaly took us this far from home?"

"That is correct Lady Driss," _Templar_ nodded, "Even with our hyperstream drive fully functional, it will take us approximately fifteen months to cover that distance, assuming we make a nonstop journey – an impossibility in our current condition."

"We can't waste that much time trying to get back, not when the Agemo and the Mythra have started moving towards M51-B," Ein muttered, his eyebrows furrowed in thought, "There should be at least one _Eye of Aaraan_ gate node in M63 I believe?"

"According to the records in my database, if they are accurate enough to be believed, M63 is linked to M51-A via gate node 112A," _Templar_ answered almost instantly, "M63 itself is approximately four days away via hyperstream."

"Excellent," Ein exclaimed, "_Templar_, lock in hyperstream coordinates and prepare to…"

"One moment please!" Driss suddenly spoke up again, a look of worry etched clearly across her face, "_Templar_, could you repeat the ID of that gate node?"

"The gate node in question follows the designation 112A," _Templar_ answered, "But why do you…"

_Templar_ paused when he saw Lady Driss turn pale, as though she were suddenly stricken by some ailment.

"Lady Driss, is anything the matter?" _Templar_ enquired.

"Captain," Driss began, completely ignoring the ship's enquiry, "Does 112A ring a bell?"

"Gate node 112A…" Ein murmured as he ran the numbers through his mind, "What about 112A? Not that I can recall anything about…"

The memory returned fresh in his mind and Ein turned as pale as Driss.

"Of all galaxies…" Ein muttered, "Of all the galaxies in the supercluster…"

* * *

Talos came to groggily as the effects of the drugs wore off. The ceiling of an alien room swam slowly into his vision as he willed his eyes to focus properly.

"Looks like you're fine," the gruff voice suddenly spoke again.

"I'm… fine?" Talos asked as he turned to face the stern-looking man again, "I thought…"

It was then that he realized that the pain in his fractured limbs was gone, replaced by a strange tingling sensation that accompanied every slight movement of his. Lifting his right arm in amazement, Talos blinked again to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Your arm and leg are fine now," the man commented as he tended to another unconscious officer in the neighbouring bed, "We managed to get the regenerators back online."

"This is… this is incredible," Talos managed to say after he had gotten to his feet and realized that his leg was as good as new, "It looks like I owe you my gratitude, sir…"

"…Piers," the man finished quickly, as though he wanted to end the conversation as quickly as he could, "Doctor Piers. Now if you would excuse me, I have to tend to the others…"

"Oh, my apologies then, for disturbing your work," Talos muttered for fear of offending the doctor further, "I'll take my leave then…"

"By the way, it would be good if you could make your way to the bridge," Piers mentioned without even turning away from the patient, "The captain sent for you earlier, but you were unconscious then."

"Very well, I will head for the bridge immediately," Talos answered as he quickly stepped out into the corridor.

* * *

As the Frerrn minister stepped onto the bridge he realized, from the stars streaking by on the viewscreens, that they were in hyperstream. Captain Ein noticed him and gestured for him to join them around the central holographic display.

"I see the good doctor has taken good care of you," Ein spoke casually to Talos.

"Well, he doesn't seem to like friendly conversation," Talos replied.

"That's Doctor Piers alright!" Ein laughed heartily, "Don't mind the good doctor: he's always like that."

"Meanwhile, I believe you called me here for a reason?" Talos asked.

"Ah, straight to the point, spoken like a true prime minister," Ein commented as he gestured towards the holographic display, which showed a map of a galaxy that seemed familiar in shape but was clearly not M51-A.

"The captain thought it might be best if you were given all details regarding our current situation," Driss explained, "That way, you might be better prepared as to what to expect. _Templar_?"

"Prime minister Talos, at the moment we are traveling at maximum hyperstream velocities towards the galaxy M63," _Templar_ began immediately, "At our current speed of three light years per second we should reach the outer fringes of M63 in four days' time."

"Wait, what are we doing heading for M63?" Talos asked, "What in the galaxy happened back then?"

"Simply put, the Mythra Spheres attempted to destroy our forces via a timespace disruption," _Templar_ replied, "It is not known as to whether their attempt succeeded. However, in doing so, they somehow caused a massive space time displacement that brought us far out into extragalactic space. Because our hyperstream drive does not have the range or speed for a quick return journey, and also because we are in need of raw materials to complete repairs, it was decided that we head for the nearest galaxy – in this case galaxy M63. There, we will complete all system repairs, and attempt to make the return trip via an _Eye of Aaraan_ gate node."

"So," Talos began, not quite sure about how to react to the startling news, "You mean to say that we are at present a substantial distance away from M51?"

"Yes," Driss answered, "We understand that it is crucial for us to return ASAP given the circumstances regarding the Agemo and the Mythra. That is why we will attempt to return via the gate node in M63. Do you have any questions?"

"As a matter of fact yes," Talos replied in as calm a voice he could muster, "Both you and _Templar_ kept saying 'attempt' – I suppose this implies that the plan may not necessarily succeed?"

"You are correct in saying that," Driss admitted, "This is where the problem lies: the gate node in question goes by the designation 112A. In other words, this galaxy M63 is…"

"…the exact same galaxy that housed the Rebels," Ein finished, "The same Progenitor Rebels that aimed to conquer M51 using the _Qwaar Jet _and their hybrid variant of the subversive entity you know as the Neo-Beast. The Neo-Beast may have eradicated them in M51 after it turned sentient and turned on them, but in M63…"

"…they may have bases that still survive to this very day, bases and forces that could… interfere with our attempt to get home," Talos began to understand, "That is of course based on the assumption that things are still normal in M63, that is to say the Neo-Beast has not done what it did back in M51. But if it did…"

There was an uneasy silence as Talos trailed off. No one wanted to hear the conclusion that Talos had arrived at, a conclusion that had been reached just minutes ago by them before Talos had come to the bridge.

"We are advantaged in certain areas despite the damage to the ship's systems," Driss broke the silence in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, "Our speed and manoeuvrability, combined with the our operational point defences, puts us on a par with the Rebels' cruiser class vessels at least. Furthermore, our hyperstream drive can easily outrun any ship they could possibly have in their forces."

"Lady Driss is correct," _Templar_ nodded in approval, "In fact, once I have been restored to optimal functionality we will have no trouble dealing with even a small fleet of the Rebel ships on our own. This is why it is crucial that we gain access to raw materials as soon as possible so that we may complete all unfinished repairs."

"That's our current situation for you, Mr Talos," Ein turned to face the minister, who was still able to maintain an expression of calm despite his knowledge of the difficult times ahead, "Don't worry – we'll make sure you get to Sajuuk in one piece."

"That is comforting to hear," Talos smiled slightly, "All I can say is that I'm confident that we will all make it back to M51 safely."

"Right – we've all come this far, literally," Ein joked to the laughter of everyone else except _Templar_, who regarded the joke with a nonchalant shrug and what seemed like a pained sigh on the ship's part, "We're not going to be stopped by some Neo-Beast thing that even M51-A could deal with."

The laughter died down as Ein shook Talos warmly by the hand, "You are no military man – but you have valuable insights which I will be glad to hear about. I therefore look forward to working with you on this return trip."

"As am I," Talos firmly agreed.

* * *

Talos strolled through the lush green environment of the ship's garden. They had been in hyperstream for about three days now and he had become more worried with each passing day. He was confident about the _Templar_'s ability to defend itself in a fight, since its level of technology was certainly more advanced than that of the Progenitor rebels. But even then the Rebels were still using Progenitor technology after all, along with the dangerous Neo-Beast entity.

In a bid to alleviate his worries, he had decided to take a stroll through the ship's garden, which had thankfully suffered only minimal damage from the encounter with the anomaly. It seemed relaxing enough, thanks in part to the calming myriad of aromas and fragrances drifting from the blooming plants.

Yet the ship's garden seemed to contain its own little mystery: for while most of the plants held within were completely alien to him, there were a few specimens which he recognised as native to the various homeworlds of the Galactic cultures. There was the beautiful Eon bloom of Frerros, the tall and sleek Siien tree of Hiigara, and even various species native to Taiidan itself that had supposedly become extinct in the aftermath of the ancient Hiigarans' orbital bombardments. Indeed, it was almost as though the Progenitors had been dropping in on their various homeworlds to harvest botanical specimens without their knowledge. Or…

A rustle of leaves caught Talos' attention. He abandoned the Eon bloom he was admiring and walked down a smaller path into the thicker portions of the garden. Squeezing past a particularly thick bush, he was surprised to find Piers observing a few leafy herbs by the path.

"Doctor Piers!" Talos called out casually, not expecting the Progenitor to suddenly jump and yank the herb he was observing right out of the soil. The doctor stared at the ruined herb in his hand, and then glared at the Frerrn minister.

"Is anything the problem?" Piers asked icily.

"Well… as a matter of fact, no," Talos answered as calmly as he could upon seeing the ruined plant and the piercing stare of the Progenitor, "I apologise for disrupting your work. It didn't occur to me that I would startle you…"

"Well, now you know," Piers replied coldly as he threw the herb back onto the soil and turned around to leave, "Good day to you, Mr Talos."

The doctor disappeared quickly around the corner, his annoyed face surprising Driss who was walking in the opposite direction.

"Is Doctor Piers always like this?" Talos asked, still puzzled by the Progenitor's behaviour.

"Well, he doesn't like being startled, especially when he's in the middle of something," Driss replied cheerily, "By the way, I didn't know you had an interest in botany too."

"Botany?" Talos laughed, "Not really – it's just that the ship's garden happens to be a good place to relax."

"It certainly is," Driss sighed as she looked at the leaves and petals all around, "Now that we're so far from familiar space, it becomes all the more important."

"Both you and _Templar_ seemed confident enough at that time, but I still have some doubts," Talos admitted, "Especially after seeing what the Neo-Beast did in the last war."

"Well well well, it's good to hear that you share my sentiments," Driss sighed again.

"You mean, even you…"

"I've seen what our technology can do, and what it can't do," Driss explained, "I should know – I've been part of _Templar_ since midway into the civil war. We've made some advances since then, but even then we're still up against ships of comparable capability. Combined with the Neo-Beast…"

Driss stooped to smell a small but particularly intense flower. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, releasing a satisfied sigh as she let go of the plant and stood back up again.

"But there's no point worrying about it really – besides it's not like we have any other choice at the moment anyway," Driss commented.

"I suppose the only comforting fact is that we'll be going up against Progenitor ships rather than Mythra or Agemo vessels, so at least we'll have an idea of what to expect," Talos suddenly mentioned, "So at the very least we'll be able to anticipate their moves, and…"

Then a slight shudder reverberated through the ship, followed immediately by the mechanical wail of the klaxons as the _Templar_ went to red alert.

"Attention all hands," _Templar_'s voice echoed clearly throughout the entire ship, "Hyperstream has been disengaged owing to the anomaly interrupt. Please be prepared for possible combat. Lady Driss and Prime Minister Talos, the captain would like you both to report to the bridge immediately. That is all."

As the voice faded away, Driss looked at Talos worriedly.

"I really hope you're right on that one."


	26. Parallels

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 24: PARALLELS**

* * *

  
"I apologise for calling you back during your breaks," Ein mentioned as Driss and Talos stepped through the bridge doors, "But _Templar_ interrupted our hyperstream journey for a reason."

"The sensor interrupt was engaged because I detected a fleet engaged in battle about four hundred light years from our current position," _Templar_ began, "Further scans indicate that they are approximately as advanced as the Homeworld War era Hiigarans, if we ignore the anomalous reading, and that they are under attack by rebel forces."

"If that is the case then we must help them!" Talos exclaimed, "They'll be slaughtered with that state of technology!"

"Mr. Talos, please calm down," Driss advised, "I understand the urgency of the situation and the need for us to avert a massacre. But the battle would be over twenty minutes away at maximum hyperstream – too late for us to provide any worthwhile assistance."

"Indeed," _Templar_'s avatar nodded, "However I would like to bring your attention to the anomalous reading I mentioned earlier – there is a mothership class colony vessel and a small escort moving away from the main battle via hyperspace at a velocity of nine hundred thousand times light speed."

"Clearly it is somehow using Progenitor standard hyperspace technology," Ein commented, "As _Templar_ has told me earlier on, they are being pursued by a squadron of rebel ships that has broken off from the main formation. According to _Templar_'s calculations they will be able to catch up and pull the second fleet out of hyperspace in about twenty minutes' time."

"Further calculations confirm that when their hyperspace transition is interrupted, the fleet's exit position will be about twenty-one minutes away at maximum hyperstream," _Templar_ added.

"If we engage hyperstream now, we should be able to get there quickly enough to assist them," Driss noted from her console.

"What are we waiting for then?" Talos spoke up again, "If that is the case then we cannot afford to waste time!"

"Mr. Talos, while it is indeed imperative that we assist that fleet, we must bear in mind that we are not quite in optimal condition ourselves," Ein reminded calmly, "While the pursuing squadron is rather small, consisting of only three Keeper destroyers and one heavy cruiser, it may still prove slightly difficult for us to deal with that force alone. Furthermore, the main Rebel fleet could easily be called in to provide reinforcements, in which case we would be forced to make a retreat or be defeated."

"But captain, we are talking about a _colony ship_ here," Talos argued in a pained voice, "Are you saying we should just sit back and watch while a genocide is committed?"

"In my opinion, Mr. Talos' concerns are certainly valid," Driss spoke from her console.

"Even if it means more damage and possibly even destruction on our part?" Ein raised an eyebrow in surprise at Driss' words.

"Captain, the situation is such that we are still in possession of an effective means of retreat," Driss responded, "So long as we divert resources to protect the integrity of the hyperstream drive, we may enter battle with minimal risk on our part. Besides, our assistance may get us a new ally which would prove helpful in the Agemo invasion."

"With all due respect captain," Talos spoke up again, "Your Progenitor policy of non-intervention for the sake of 'self-preservation' will not get you many friends in the Agemo invasion."

"Mr. Talos, I should remind you that I am under orders to bring you to Sajuuk so that he may speak with you on matters regarding the Agemo invasion," Ein responded calmly, "He cannot speak with you if you are dead, along with the rest of us. In that respect, you must understand the… difficulties I would face in making such a decision, especially in our current condition. Therefore, Mr. Talos, I'm afraid I cannot allow this ship into battle unless you have a more convincing reason."

"Very well," Talos answered as he turned to face _Templar_'s avatar, "_Templar_, do you have sensor information regarding the support capabilities of that colony ship?"

"Given that the ship is still in hyperspace, scans have been sketchy at best," the ship admitted, "However, I may conclude that the vessel is capable of constructing ships up to the super capital class."

"You have your reason there captain," Talos turned back to Ein, "I daresay a mothership class vessel with those capabilities would be in possession of repair and support facilities for destroyer class vessels such as _Templar_. By helping them, we could gain access to those facilities to complete the repairs."

"We could do the same thing without a proper space dock," Ein countered, "All we require are some raw materials such as asteroids or space debris – without any of the risks in entering battle in our damaged state."

"But that would be a slower alternative, wouldn't it?" Talos asked, "We would still need time to properly process the materials. We could save all that time via access to processed resources that the colony ship would presumably be in possession of!"

"Captain, the window of opportunity is closing," Driss reminded from her console, "If we don't go to hyperstream within the minute we will not be able to get there in time to help."

Ein paused for a moment, glancing at Talos and then at the holographic display showing the positions of the various ships in space. Then he sighed and turned back to the determined minister.

"Very well, we will assist the fleet however we can," Ein said, motioning to the rest of the crew to get ready, "However, if we begin taking undesirable damage we will retreat immediately, regardless of whatever situation the fleet is in. _Templar_?"

"Hyperstream initiated, ETA twenty-one minutes," _Templar_ announced as the stars on the viewscreens warped into streaks of light.

* * *

"The alien fleet has dropped out of hyperspace," _Templar_'s robed avatar suddenly spoke up, "Rebel ships are exiting hyperspace as well."

"How much longer before we arrive there?" Ein asked from his seat.

"We have about two minutes' travel time left," Driss answered after a quick glance at her console, "Sir, the rebel ships have begun their attack on the escorts. The situation seems… unfavourable for the alien fleet."

"It could well be unfavourable for us too if we're not careful," Ein commented.

"Unfavourable or not, we should do what we can," Talos declared.

"It's your call Mr Talos," Ein shrugged, "I can only hope that this is well worth the risk."

"Perhaps there is not so much risk after all captain," Driss spoke up again, "Sensor analysis indicates that the rebel ships are using ion beam weaponry only."

"Could their phased energy weapons be offline somehow?" Ein asked hopefully.

"I can't be certain – we will need to be closer and travelling at below relativistic speeds before more detailed scans can be conducted," came the reply.

"Hopefully they aren't using phased energy weapons for reasons of systems damage," Ein muttered, "It'll make our life much easier that way."

"One minute remaining," _Templar_ updated, "Standing by to activate secondary shields and point defences."

"I think we've been noticed," Driss suddenly announced, "Picking up increased activity across rebel transmission frequencies – three heavy cruisers and seven Keeper destroyers from the main fleet are entering hyperspace."

"And that leaves us with a window period of twenty minutes," Ein commented as he considered the new circumstances of the situation, "Captain Ein to all hands – we will be disengaging hyperstream shortly. Stand by for combat!"

For the next few seconds, there was only silent anticipation as the _Templar_ covered the final stretch of distance between itself and its destination. And then the streaks of light on the viewscreens suddenly shortened and compressed back into normal spots of starlight as the ship decelerated to below relativistic speeds.

"Hyperstream drive disengaged, raising secondary shields," _Templar_ reported almost instantly, "Initiating evasive manoeuvres."

And the battle was upon them. Beams of ionic energy streaked from their cannon ports towards the _Templar_, barely grazing the vermillion shields as the destroyer attempted to swerve away from the attackers' main firing arcs.

"Secondary shields at ninety-eight point seven percent, initiating adaptive shielding sequence," _Templar_ announced calmly, "Retaliation sequence confirmed."

No sooner had the hologram finished speaking did the functional point defence cannons come online. Three violet ion beams shot out of the _Templar_'s hull, surging into the shimmering shields of one of the attacking Keepers. For a few seconds it seemed as though the attack was useless against the barrier. Then the ion beams passed right through the shields as though they had suddenly lost their effectiveness, cutting deeply into the hull armour of the Keeper destroyer. After a few seconds, the beams found the vulnerable antimatter reaction chamber, causing the Keeper to become a massive sphere of plasma and energy.

"Adaptive weaponry sequence is online and appears to be fully functional," Driss smiled from her console, "Looks like we still have a good chance of beating them all. I am opening a channel with the alien mothership."

"_Templar_, take us towards the mothership and do whatever it takes to draw fire away from them while maintaining maximum evasive," Ein ordered before speaking into the main channel, "Attention alien fleet, this is Captain Ein of the Progenitor destroyer _Templar_. We are not, I repeat, not of the same faction as the Progenitor forces attacking you. We are here to provide assistance. Please respond."

For a short while there was only static and chaos on the other end of the channel, followed by a few muffled explosions. Then after what sounded like a heated but brief argument among officers, a coarse-sounding voice suddenly spoke.

"…You would expect us to trust your words after what has been done to our people?"

"We only wish to assist you, as you can observe from our actions," Ein answered calmly, "All we ask is for your ships to not target and fire on us. We are currently on a course towards your mothership, so if you do not comply we will be forced to withdraw."

"And what would it matter if you were forced to withdraw?" the voice asked again, sounding no less hostile than before

"It is a simple matter of tactics – obviously we cannot cover you as effectively at such a distance," Ein responded. "Besides, it would allow us to better synchronise a defence alongside your own forces, which I believe are not faring too well by themselves."

"Then I'm afraid you are very much mistaken captain," the voice replied harshly, "Our technology is sufficient for us to hold our own against the likes of you. If you think you'd be doing us a favour…"

"We should not be arguing right now," Ein interrupted in as calm a voice he could muster, "The situation warrants cooperation between us. If you will not cooperate then we will have no choice but to retreat…"

"Sir, there are multiple weapons locks on us," _Templar_ spoke up suddenly, "Picking up multiple phased energy weapon charge sequences. Attempting evasive manoeuvres…"

No sooner had _Templar_ spoken the words did four lances of light erupt from the rebel heavy cruiser – two of which connected cleanly with the ship itself. There was a sickening lurch as the ship reeled from the impact and the shields struggled to dissipate the destructive energy. A few surprised yelps sounded as a few consoles exploded from the overload.

"Two direct hits confirmed, secondary shields down to seventy-eight point six percent, minor structural stress damage detected in decks four and five," _Templar_ warned, its hologram flickering visibly under the stress.

"Captain, we won't survive this kind of barrage without our primary shields," Driss added worriedly from her partially smoking console.

"I know this is an excessive request, but it is crucial if you want to win this," Ein resumed the conversation in the hope that the mothership would listen, "We are in dire need of resources to repair our ship's primary weapon. If you would grant us access…"

"…to our resources? Out of the question," the voice interrupted firmly, "In fact, we will be closing this channel as we see no need to continue this conversation."

"Do so and you will be doomed to oblivion!" Ein yelled at last, his patience finally worn down, "Even as we speak there are reinforcements heading this way, reinforcements that will arrive in under twenty minutes and will guarantee your complete destruction! You will stand no chance, and neither will we! Except for the unimportant fact that we have a means of escape while you don't! So you may close this channel by all means, only if you are willing to accept all responsibility for the fate of your people!"

Everyone, even _Templar_, turned around to stare at the captain in both surprise and shock. There was also nothing but static on the channel, which was quickly replaced by crystal-clear silence some moments after.

"…The mothership has closed the channel," Driss managed to say as she recovered from the shock of seeing the usually-calm Ein lose his cool.

"So you see Mr. Talos," Ein began to speak to the equally shocked minister, his voice returning to its usual calm, "This is why non-intervention is preferred at times. This is why…"

"Priority alert, additional phased cannon locks detected," _Templar_ warned just as another three phased cannon blasts shot towards the ship. Everyone on the bridge braced for the inevitable impact, only to see the shots of phased energy dissipate against a translucent kaleidoscopic screen of colour.

"What in the universe was that?" Ein managed to exclaim after the initial shock.

"Preliminary scans indicate it is an energy field calibrated to nullify phased cannon blasts," _ Templar_ replied in a slightly surprised tone, "It appears to be one hundred percent effective, yet requires comparatively little energy for a task of that capability. However it seems ineffective against any other type of weapons fire."

"So this is the 'sufficient technology' they were referring to…" Ein muttered in understanding, "No wonder the rebel ships weren't using phased energy cannons to begin with."

"Sir, the mothership is jettisoning resources," Driss added.

"Setting course for the resource cloud, hyperfield drive at full power," _Templar_ responded instantaneously, "Repair systems are standing by."

"So it seems that you are mistaken, captain," Talos smiled as he watched the ship approach the growing cloud of resources just outside the alien mothership.

"Well, in hindsight," Ein was shrugging his shoulders, "Perhaps so…"

"Sir, the mothership is hailing us again," Driss spoke up again, "A one-way channel, patching them through."

"…Captain Ein, we do not take kindly to betrayals. We have prepared for you some resources right next to our mothership. Take the resources and do what you promised to do," the voice spoke again in a less hostile tone, "If everything goes as planned, then perhaps we Arkeans may speak further with you. That is all."

"A surprising turn of events," Driss commented as she closed the channel, "We should try and make the most of this."

"Of course," Ein declared, "_Templar_, you know what to do."

"Affirmative."

As the ship approached the resource cloud, the size of the mothership became quite apparent to everyone on the bridge. It was a heavily armoured city in space, resembling the giant mushroom shape of a Vaygr command station. There were also several large hangars etched across various sections of the hull, one of which seemed large enough to accommodate even a battlecruiser with ease. Not one was devoid of activity.

At last the _Templar_ arrived at the cloud of processed materials. As the ship decelerated to a standstill, a series of panels began to slide open across the chrome-coloured outer hull, revealing the phased disassembler arrays within. As the arrays came online, the exposed strips began glowing in subdued hues of emerald and vermillion, drawing in the particulate matter that made up the artificial cloud.

"Phased disassembly systems online, resourcing operations commencing," _Templar_ updated, "Initiating repairs of crucial ship systems."

"We're too far from the main battle to directly assist them," Ein commented, "What's the status of our drones?"

"About twenty-five of our complement of thirty-six are fully functional," _Templar_ answered, "The rest are damaged and require repair or replacement."

"Launch all functional drones and have them support the escorts in battle," Ein ordered quickly as another of the escorting capital ships succumbed to the fire of the Keeper destroyers, "Focus fire on the heavy cruiser first and then on the remaining two Keepers."

"Captain, sensor analysis shows that the Rebel ships are randomising their shield frequencies," Driss reported from her console, "Their overall shield effectiveness has dropped as a result. However, it will render our adaptive weaponry sequence less effective."

"So more brute force will be needed I suppose," the captain sighed slightly, "Hopefully the drones will be enough to buy us more time."

One by one, the drones soared out of the _Templar_'s frontal bay, their triple wings unfolding as they headed for the main battle. At first glance, it would have been easy to mistake these drones to be exactly the same as those employed by the rebel Keeper destroyers due to their nearly identical appearance. However, they differed in that they not only featured improved weapons systems and more powerful manoeuvring drives, but were also equipped with energy shield generators to improve their survivability.

As the drones approached their target, they immediately flashed a brilliant vermillion as their shields went online. Then the plasma pulse cannons opened fire, showering the heavy cruiser with sharp projectiles of pure plasma energy. In response, the cruiser returned fire with its point defences, only to have its pulsar and nanite shots deflected by the drones' shielding.

"Sensors indicate that the heavy cruiser's shields are down to ninety-four percent," Driss spoke up after the drones had fired off their first salvo, "We'll also need to hurry – the reinforcements will be arriving in about ten minutes' time."

"How much time before we have our primary weapons working, _Templar_?" Ein asked in a slightly worried voice.

"I estimate that we should have impulse cannons in three minutes and nova pulse in five," came the reply, "We have also stocked sufficient resources to repair our mass-energy converters and restore phase-shift capability."

"In that case, cease resourcing operations and take us back to the main battle," Ein ordered, "We have to take out the cruiser first since only the phased energy weapons are real threats to us."

And then the ship began turning around, the protective panels sliding back into place over the vulnerable and fragile strips that housed the external phased disassembler arrays. Then the fabric of space around the ship wobbled slightly as the hyperfield drive powered up again, propelling the _Templar_ back towards the rebel squadron.

"The heavy cruiser is targeting us again with its phased energy turrets," Driss warned, "If we bring the cruiser within range of our point defences, we will also enter the firing range of their phased energy weapons."

"What is the status of our shields?" Ein turned to _Templar_ once again.

"One hundred percent power since our absence from the main battle allowed them time to recharge," _Templar_ replied, "After factoring in all variables, my calculations indicate that we should be able to defeat the cruiser with our shields still safely intact."

"In that case, continue with the attack," Ein ordered, "Feel free to use the impulse cannons once they're back online."

"A pleasure, sir."

Light shimmered and refracted around the ship as _Templar_ began manoeuvring closer to the cruiser, its hyperfield drive sliding the destroyer through space with ease. And then both ships lashed out at each other at the precise same moment when weapons range was finally achieved. Four more phased cannon beams reached out towards _Templar_ even as the destroyer bit back with its triple ion beams. Despite a clever swerve and some deft dodging on _Templar_'s part, three of the blasts still managed to find their way to the ship, crackling viciously as they poured hell into the flaring shields. Once again bridge suffered a violent quake as the destroyer reeled from the attack.

"Secondary shields at sixty-seven point eight percent and holding," _Templar_ announced calmly even as its hologram began to flicker and distort from the power surges raking its systems, "Initiating impulse cannon firing sequence."

At that moment, the twin cannon ports in front of _Templar_ began to glow a glittering white. On a standard Keeper destroyer chassis, these ports would have housed the forward ion cannons. On the _Templar_, they housed the newer impulse cannon weapons. These were deadly weapons whose ancestry could be traced back to the clumsy siege cannons of old. Using a strong gravitational field, the cannon would focus high energy plasma into containment spheres many times smaller than those of a siege cannon. Once critical density was achieved, the plasma sphere would be fired – a ball of glittering light about a tenth the diameter of a siege cannon blast sphere but many times more bright and deadly due to the highly compressed nature of plasma within. Upon either impacting the target or arriving at its destination, the containment field would collapse, creating a gravitational shockwave capable of moderate damage on its own. Combined with the force of a rapidly expanding wave of plasma, the final result was usually complete annihilation of the target at point blank range of the explosion.

Moments later, _Templar_ fired its impulse cannons, sending two glittering plasma spheres towards the rebel cruiser. The spheres touched the vermillion shields of the cruiser and disappeared as the gravitational and plasma shockwaves were released, wrapping the hapless ship in a blinding light. Everyone on _Templar_'s bridge could vaguely make out the rapidly disintegrating silhouette of the cruiser in the explosion as the ship's shields were completely overwhelmed.

"Sensors confirm that the rebel cruiser has been destroyed," Driss announced triumphantly, "Analysis shows that the rebel ships' shields are completely inadequate against impulse blasts."

"Things are starting to look up at last," Ein gave a sigh of relief, "_Templar_?"

"Impulse cannons are recharging and will be able to fire again in fifteen seconds," _Templar_ replied, "We will not be able to enjoy nominal recharge rates until repairs are fully complete."

"If I may ask a question," Talos spoke up, his face slightly pale at the destructiveness of the weapons, "What do you mean exactly by 'nominal recharge rates?'"

"Impulse cannons of this class are capable of firing shots every five seconds in optimum conditions," _Templar_ answered to the shock of the minister, "At present the recharge rate of fifteen seconds is an unacceptable sixty-six percent loss of combat effectiveness."

"Why do you ask? You seem rather surprised," Ein chuckled as he watched _Templar_ move to engage the remaining Keeper.

"If not for the unimportant fact that the Somtaaw siege cannon of old required considerable time to recharge…" Talos managed to mutter when he saw the last Keeper suffer a similar fate.

"All targets in range destroyed," Driss reported, "But we still have the reinforcements to deal with, and they'll be arriving in under a minute."

"Judging from the state of the Arkean fleet it doesn't seem like they'll be in any condition to hold off a second wave," Ein noted when he saw the tattered remnants of the mothership's escort forces, "_Templar_, we have nova pulse back online I hope?"

"Repairs have just been completed sir."

"Then destroy those reinforcements."

"Affirmative."

The ship came to a halt as the hyperfield drive began recalibrating for another task: formation of a strategic hyperspace inhibitor field. As the field consolidated itself some distance in front of the _Templar_, the heavily armoured section of hull above the drone launch bay slid open to reveal the trump card of the destroyer class ship: a sharp needle-like device that now slowly projected out of the opening in the hull.

And then the needle began to sparkle with arcs and bolts of pure energy, everything slowly building up towards the frontal point of the device which now glowed a blinding hue of cerulean. At the same time, the rebel reinforcements dropped out of hyperspace, emerging into normal space at the coordinates designated by _Templar_'s inhibitor field.

Before the rebel ships could react, the energy streaked out like an aqua bolt of lightning towards the gathered fleet. Instead of striking the ships, the bolt instead halted at a point in empty space in the centre of the formation. As the energy continued to arc around the path of the bolt, light seemed to go crazy at the terminus, refracting and reflecting wildly in every direction as space itself began to fold violently. And then the bolt disappeared, breaking the link of light between _Templar_ and the malevolent disturbance in space. For a moment, it seemed as if nothing had happened. The next moment, a star exploded out of the spatial disruption, completely engulfing the rebel fleet as it expanded to swallow every ship.

"By the gods!" Talos yelled as he sprang from his seat in sheer shock, "What was that?"

"Our strongest weapon, the nova pulse," Ein answered, "It creates a temporary but highly intense star at the target area for about a minute. Many times weaker than a quantum pulse, but it doesn't need a juggernaut class quantum tapper to power it. Even then though, it takes over an hour to recharge each time so we have to use it wisely."

"All targets destroyed," Driss announced as the violet star expanded to its maximum size, its fiery corona nearly reaching _Templar_'s position before it began to shrink again, fading back slowly into the quantum event that created it. All that remained of the rebel fleet were blackened husks of ship hulls.

"Retracting nova pulse weapon," _Templar_ reported, "Recharging the energy cells will take one hundred minutes."

"Long range scans indicate that the main fleet is jumping to hyperspace," Driss added again, "But it seems that we've intimidated them – their courses are taking them back to M63."

"Excellent – we can safely speak with the Arkeans now. Hail the Arkean mothership," Ein ordered.

Driss nodded and tapped a few buttons on her console. After a few moments of glancing at her console screen she turned back to the captain and shook her head, "Sir, the mothership responds that they are too busy to speak with us at the moment owing to the need for repairs to both the fleet and the mothership's systems. They are however willing to let us dock and meet them in person in about half an hour's time."

"I suppose that could be arranged," Ein said lightly, "We could all use a rest for the time being anyway. _Templar_, bring us in to dock with the mothership, but maintain maximum internal security at all times just in case."

"At once, captain."

* * *

"We should still exercise caution when dealing with them," Driss reminded as she walked towards the airlock alongside Talos and the captain, "We shouldn't trust them entirely yet. In fact, I think a larger escort is not unreasonable."

"Our current escort is adequate Lady Driss," Ein replied as he calmly walked on, "Even if their behaviour suddenly becomes 'inconsistent,' _Templar_ will know what to do."

"Indeed, there is nothing to worry about," _Templar_ suddenly spoke as its mobile avatar shimmered into existence beside them, "Critical ship systems have been restored to one hundred percent efficiency, and emergency recall protocols are in effect."

"Emergency recall protocols?" Talos questioned as they halted in front of the airlock to await the unlocking sequence.

"The belt which you have been given and are now wearing contains various functions, including a communications transmitter, a personal force field generator, and a quantum tunnel induction device," _Templar_ explained as a systematic series of thuds and clicks began coming from the sealed door, "Should the need arise I can remotely activate the quantum tunnel device and transfer you back to the ship. The effective range is one light second so there is nothing to worry about."

"If you have such quantum tunnelling devices then why is there still a need for airlocks, manual movement and such?" Talos asked as he watched the multi-layered airlock slide open slowly, "Why not just tunnel your way around?"

"For an object or person to travel via quantum tunnel, there has to be a reception gate at the target destination," the ship explained, "This is purely due to limitations of the mobile induction device itself – the induction device simply does not have sufficient energy to drop the target safely out of hyperspace at the target destination. This is so as the initial induction coupled with the creation of the quantum coherence field to prevent phased disassembly will deplete much of the energy reserve of the induction device. One could of course work around this problem by using mobile quantum tapper energy devices, but there are obvious safety issues regarding the carrying of such devices as personal gear."

"We do have special craft that are capable of independent tunnelling without need for reception gates," Driss added as they began stepping out through the airlock into the massive hangar bay of the Arkean mothership, "But I can only hope that we do not have to use the protocols."

"It would be foolishness on their part if you ask me," Ein commented as he walked down the extended walkway that led to the hangar bay floor, "And I believe that is our welcoming committee."

Waiting at the foot of the walkway was a sizeable group consisting of what were presumably the Arkean diplomats and their security escorts. Talos was slightly surprised by their appearance, having been rather used to seeing similarly shaped and featured humanoids all his life. In a surprising quirk of science, it turned out that all the various galactic races were all similar and very alike save for some unique features and appearances, differentiated only by some differences in their DNA that prevented any interracial mating. Therefore it was not surprising for one to sometimes mistake a Taiidan for a Hiigaran, or a Frerrn for a Turanic. The Arkeans, however, were a completely different story.

The Arkeans looked humanoid, but that was where the similarities ended. They were covered in dark brown scales rather than hair or coloured skin, and featured four fingers instead of five, each equipped with some small but rather lethal-looking claws. Their faces were even more alien: where there should have been noses, there were reptilian-looking snouts instead. As for their eyes, they were beady-looking and yellow, gazing with all the iciness of a reptilian predator.

When Ein reached the bottom of the walkway, one of the Arkean diplomats came up to meet him. Ein gathered that he was the one in charge since the reptilian-looking alien was clothed in an attire whose design was an outstanding mix of gold and yellow compared with the rest of the retinue that was either dressed in shining black military uniform for the security officers or a mix of silver and white for the lower-ranked diplomats.

"You may call me Lacrima," the Arkean began in a rough and coarse-sounding voice as he bowed slightly towards Ein, "I am the head ambassador of the Arkean Empire. You are…"

"Captain Ein of the destroyer _Templar_," Ein responded respectfully, returning the bow as he did so, "We hail from the Progenitor Empire. If I may clarify: the Progenitor vessels that attacked you are in no way related to us. They are rebels to our empire and are hence our enemies as well as yours."

"Yes yes, I understand there was a misunderstanding earlier and would hence like to apologise for the disrespect," Lacrima replied, his coarse voice sounding slightly more apologetic than before, "If you please – I will lead you to the diplomatic hall where you can meet our admiral and leader."

"Of course," Ein nodded as he gestured for Driss and Talos to follow, along with their escort of five guards, "If I may ask – why were you fleeing into extragalactic space? There is nothing out here that would let you survive."

"It is a long story that began a long time ago," Lacrima answered sadly, "We had just achieved basic spaceflight some three centuries ago when one of our first planetary survey satellites detected an anomaly on our homeworld. Investigations revealed a ruined starship thickly obscured by forest overgrowth. You would recognise it as a Keeper."

Lacrima paused momentarily to walk through a door and into a long corridor before continuing on, with everyone else following closely behind.

"Needless to say, the Keeper had suffered massive damage and nothing was salvageable except for its hyperspace module and some hull metallurgy. After some basic repairs and reverse engineering, we were able to replicate the hyperdrive technology for use on our ships. Not long after, we were visited by the rebels – presumably they picked up the energy signatures of our first hyperdrive tests."

At that moment, Lacrima paused again, clenching his right hand in anger. It took a few deep breaths before he was able to compose himself sufficiently to speak again.

"They threatened to wipe us out unless we did their bidding. We had no choice but to agree. From then on they granted us just enough technology and resources to establish mining fleets and colonies across the quadrant. We led hard lives for the following centuries – they would extort every ton of resource we mined, leaving us with barely enough for basic survival. Until one day, a mothership class vessel emerged from hyperspace over our homeworld. They called themselves the Bentusi and offered to help us free ourselves from this slavery. For they too had encountered the rebels and had taken considerable losses as well. They gave us resources and some technology, as well assistance in the construction of a mothership class colony vessel to take our people away from this living hell. And then they left. We have not heard from them since."

"According to information on our side, I regret to say that the Bentusi are no longer in existence," Talos spoke sadly, "They gave their lives in a terrible war some years ago."

Upon hearing the news, all the Arkeans wore looks of shock and horror on their faces, with some of them whispering to each other about the matter. Lacrima was the first to compose himself, after which he shook his head solemnly and spoke again, "They will be honoured and remembered by our people."

"What happened after the colony ship was built?" Ein asked.

"We were loading the colonists when the rebels mounted a surprise attack. Apparently they had discovered the Bentusi intervention and saw it as betrayal on our part. Extermination of our people was to be the consequence. We only survived because we had a spy amongst the rebel ranks who uploaded a chaos code into their central computer systems. The resulting confusion and malfunctions allowed us to defeat the attacking fleet, but not before they managed to bomb our homeworld clean of all life. We have been on the run ever since."

"I am sorry to hear that – your people have indeed suffered much in all these years," Ein acknowledged grimly, "I have one last question: The hyperdrive technology that is in your possession is fairly advanced for your overall technological level. I would thus like to enquire more about how your people came to possess such a powerful hyperdrive."

"I'm afraid I cannot disclose close details about our hyperdrive – such information is strictly confidential," Lacrima responded firmly, "All I can reveal is that it was partially derived from Bentusi blueprints. We're nearly at the hall now."

With a slight bow, Lacrima gestured for them to enter what seemed to be a very spacious turbolift of sorts. As the last guard stepped in, the corridor opening closed shut, upon which the lift began accelerating upwards so quickly that even the Progenitors were slightly surprised by the force. No more than ten seconds passed before the turbolift began decelerating again to a halt.

"I must apologise for any discomfort you may have felt during the acceleration," Lacrima said as he stepped onto the new level and into the hall, "Our species are somewhat resilient to forces of inertia, so other species may experience discomforts on our lifts even with the dampeners at full power."

"That is an… interesting aspect of your people," Ein replied politely as he quickly recovered from the ride and strode forward into the hall.

To say that the diplomatic hall was grand was an understatement. Despite the ragtag nature of the Arkean fleet, it seemed that they spared no expense when it came to impressing foreigners. Cold metallic titanium walls were covered with rich and lush velvety-like material, causing the hall to take on hues of soft cerulean and emerald under the dazzling light from the hanging ceiling lamps – ultra-bright bulbs encased in exquisite crystalline structures.

"This place feels like an underwater environment," Talos spoke up again, certainly awed by the interior decoration of the place.

"Indeed – for it may interest you to note that we are an amphibious species and spend equal amounts of time on both land and in water," Lacrima smiled back, "However, we believe that nothing on land can match the splendour that one may find underwater. This explains the theme that was selected for this hall, where the wall colours were selected such that the light falling on the walls would help achieve a subtle representation of that environment. Now if you would take your seats at the table – our admiral will be here to meet you shortly."

And then Ein's communicator crackled to life with _Templar_'s voice, "…Danger captain! Infection detected! Sensors were eluded somehow, attempting countermeasures…"

As _Templar_'s voice died away from the strain, the brilliant hall lights shut off and were replaced immediately with the hues of the warning klaxons.

_"Emergency alert, malfunctions detected in decks four through seven and spreading,"_ the computerised announcement echoed calmly through the darkened hall, _"All personnel must retreat to safety before plasma infusion. Time remaining to plasma infusion: Two minutes."_

"A Neo-Beast infection?" Talos exclaimed in shock, "Here?!"

"The rebels must have somehow managed to breach the defensive lines earlier and planted a device onboard," Ein commented as he looked to Lacrima for the next course of action.

"This is deck nine, so follow me!" Lacrima urged as he gestured towards a door which the rest of the Arkeans were running towards, "We need to get to the next deck before the infusion starts!"


	27. Equivalent Exchange

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 25: EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE**

* * *

  
"By 'plasma infusion' I suppose you mean an injection of superheated plasma into the affected areas?" Ein asked as he followed Lacrima closely.

"It's the only known method we have to halt the Devourer's progress," came the gruff reply, "Inefficient and damaging to internals, but effective."

"Something like a Naar Directive?" Talos mentioned to the confusion of both the Progenitor and Arkean crews, "Oh, it is a manoeuvre conducted by Hiigaran ship crews. The concept is similar."

"Hiigaran?" Lacrima cocked what seemed to be an eyebrow at the alien word.

"They are a people living in the galaxy we hail from," Ein quickly explained, "I will provide you with further details later on. For now…"

_"Time remaining to plasma infusion: One minute and fifteen seconds,"_ the computerised voice droned on emotionlessly, _"All personnel must retreat to safety before plasma infusion."_

"There's the turbolift!" Lacrima exclaimed as he gestured towards the door at the end of the corridor and broke out into a mad dash, "We must make haste – it will depart this deck when the critical time is reached!"

"And what is this 'critical time' you speak of?" Ein asked in a slightly worried voice, panting slightly as the group began sprinting towards their destination.

_"Time remaining to plasma infusion: One minute,_" the voice announced again, _"Initiating lockdown."_

"NO!" the Arkean made a pained cry as the doors began sliding shut and the lift began accelerating upwards. They were still at least a dozen paces away – there was no way for any of them to make it. And then there were a series of metallic clangs as a small silvery object ricocheted through the closing doors and rattled to a halt on the turbolift platform.

"Excellent aim with that reception node Driss," Ein praised when he realised that it was his first officer who had made the throw.

"We can save compliments for later – we're in trouble now!" Driss warned as she gestured towards the shut turbolift doors. Slowly but steadily, a crimson ooze seemed to emerge from the floor and stretch across the pristine metallic surface of the doors, walls and floor. Looking behind them, Ein realised that the infection was quickly progressing from the rear as well.

"Stay close!" Ein yelled to everyone as he pulled the stunned Lacrima towards him. Everyone else did the same, huddling closely together as the ooze continued to approach.

"Synchronising generators – activating unified distortion field!" Driss announced as she quickly keyed a series of commands into her own personal generator around her waist. Almost instantly, there was a loud hum as all the generation belts in the group came online, projecting a shimmering translucent barrier all around them. And then there was a loud hiss and crackle as the infection halted on the outskirts of the field. The field seemed to extend partly into the flooring and ceiling as well, for the ooze creeping along the surfaces also ceased at the points where the fields intersected.

_"Time remaining toooo plaznaa iiiii…"_ the computerised voice warped and distorted as the Neo-Beast cells made their presence felt in the surrounding circuitry.

"Cover your eyes!" Driss managed to yell before the corridor disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

* * *

When Talos came to he felt violently sick, retching his previous meal into a bin by his bunk.

"I see you still haven't gotten used to quantum tunnel journeys," Driss smiled as she came up to offer the Frerrn a small towel.

"What?" Talos managed to say weakly as he wiped bits of noxious-smelling breakfast from his lips.

"If it were not for Lady Driss you'd all probably be dead now," a familiar voice mentioned from behind her, "She managed to get a reception node onto the turbolift before it departed, allowing all of you to get to safety."

"Where… are we now?" Talos asked as he tried to knock his fatigued mind into gear, "What happened to _Templar_?"

"_Templar_'s fine – all it took was an emergency deployment of nanite countermeasures," Driss answered reassuringly, "Right now we're back onboard and unharmed."

"The same can't be said for you though," the voice continued as Driss stepped aside to reveal its source.

"Doctor Piers!"

"I've never encountered such an adverse reaction to quantum tunnelling before," the doctor went on with what seemed a slight smirk on his face, "Congratulations sir – you may be a medical first."

"Such an honour," Talos returned the sarcasm as he tried to stand up, only to find that his legs were somehow refusing to listen.

"I rest my case," Piers rolled his eyes as he moved on to another patient, deciding that the minister's feeble struggles were too much for him to gaze upon.

"It may be best for you to continue resting," Driss advised, firmly grasping Talos' left shoulder and pushing him back onto his bunk.

"Very well," came the reply as the Frerrn decided not to resist, "But where is the captain?"

"He is still aboard the Arkean mothership and discussing matters of importance with their leaders. Apparently they have vital information as to Rebel positions and movements in M63. We're trying to make a deal with them."

"Make a deal?" Talos raised an eyebrow in disapproval, "We saved their lives!"

"And they gave us resources, so we're quits now – at least according to them," Driss replied with a sigh.

"So… what do they want exactly?"

"I don't know, but after what they've seen about us…" Driss trailed off.

* * *

"Out of the question - we have strict rules regarding the trade of such advanced weaponry."

"As do we regarding access to military intelligence," the Arkean admiral replied bluntly.

"As desperate as your situation may currently be, it does not warrant access to nova pulse technology," Ein emphasised firmly, staring straight into the eyes of the reptilian creature, "I can only give you schematics on hyperstream drive construction and nothing more."

"Let us not complicate such a simple trade, shall we?" the admiral went on, brushing aside Ein's refusal, "We have something you want and you have something we want. Give us your nova pulse technology and you will have every detail you could possibly want on your enemies' locations and movements. In fact we will even throw in a free diversionary attack to draw your enemies away while you make a run for your gate node. It is that simple."

"You do know that hyperstream drives are unaffected by gravity wells and inhibitor fields?" Ein continued to argue his case, though he had a feeling it would still be in vain, "The strategic implications for your people could be immense."

"While I concede that your hyperstream technology is indeed of tremendous strategic value, it unfortunately does not appeal to us nearly as much as your nova pulse," the Arkean replied dryly, "No nova pulse, no deal."

"So be it," Ein answered determinedly as he got up to leave.

"Very well," the admiral shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as he watched the captain walk towards the door, "Just don't come running back to us when you bite off more than you can chew, as will probably be the case."

Ein paused right before the door, the admiral's words sinking in. Tetyth was probably right – as advanced as _Templar_ was, it could not possibly stand up to the might of the entire Rebel navy alone. Even with phase-shift engaged, there'd still be too many phased energy cannons for the ship to evade. Clenching his right fist slowly, Ein turned around to face Admiral Tetyth once again.

"I see you've reconsidered?" Tetyth smiled at the Progenitor captain.

"Yes I have," Ein returned the smile as he remembered that there would be no way for the Arkeans to power the weapon even if they built one.

"Most excellent," the admiral clasped his scaly hands together in what seemed to be tremendous satisfaction on his part, "Back to the details – we will transmit to you everything we have on the Rebel forces in M63 and…"

"…I'll give you the nova pulse technology in exchange," Ein answered smilingly.

"With, of course, the necessary technology to power it," Tetyth continued, wiping the smile off the captain's face.

"This is outrageous – this was already a major compromise on my part, and you still want more?" Ein demanded in disbelief.

"Did you take us for fools?" the Arkean got up and walked slowly towards Ein on his bionic legs, "Even the most primitive of scanners could easily determine the amount of energy released in that blast – energy that our current reactor technology could not hope to provide. Surely you will not provide the wheel but deny us the axle?"

"I see that this is not going anywhere," Ein replied, realising that further negotiations would be futile, "There will be no deal, and this time I'm not reconsidering my decision."

"Your choice, captain," Tetyth smiled to the annoyance of the Progenitor, "I can only wish you and your crew all the best."

* * *

"You don't look too happy captain," Driss commented as Ein walked towards his captain's chair silently.

"I have nothing to say about the Arkeans, as pitiful as they might be in their current circumstances," Ein muttered as he took his seat and tapped a button, summoning up _Templar_'s hologram.

"Your orders," _Templar_ began before pausing slightly in surprise at the captain's mood, "Sir?"

"Prepare for departure immediately," Ein issued the order angrily, "Set a general course for 112A."

"Captain, you know that we can't just jump in there…" Driss began before trailing off when Ein's glare shifted to her.

"We'll stop along the way to take scans of Rebel activity throughout the quadrant," Ein replied coldly, "Is that agreeable, Lady Driss?"

"Why… of course," Driss quickly nodded before bowing her head low over her console, as though the sensor data on the console screens had suddenly become hard to read, "I fully agree."

"Captain, I regret to inform you that the Arkeans are reporting… technical difficulties with the hangar bay doors," _Templar _reported cautiously.

"How convenient. Open a channel!" Ein snapped.

_"…Hangar command, what do you…"_ the Arkean officer began as he appeared on the main viewscreen.

"This is Captain Ein of the _Templar_ – perhaps we could assist you with your… 'technical difficulties?'" Ein spoke in a voice icy enough to freeze the entire bridge.

_"C…Captain Ein!"_ stammered the officer, _"If I… May I assure you that we are looking into the matter at this moment and expect to have the problem fixed soon…"_

"I insist," Ein continued to the terror of the officer, "Our nanites will be able to fix it in no time."

_"What's the hurry, captain?"_ the familiar voice of Admiral Tetyth came in over the speakers as the Arkean walked over to the side of the terrified officer,_ "It's only been such a short while – surely you'd like to stay a little longer?"_

"I'm afraid we're running on a very tight schedule, so we have to leave now," Ein answered in as polite a voice as he could muster, "Now open the hangar bay doors!"

_"Like my subordinate said earlier – we are encountering some technical difficulties…"_

"How believable – well, if you don't open those doors now we will have to open them ourselves," Ein declared, finally deciding to do away with polite conversation.

_"My dear captain, I wouldn't make such arrogant comments if I were you,"_ Tetyth answered with a sly grin on his face, _"Or else, you may just encounter some 'technical difficulties' yourselves…"_

"Tractor beams powering up! Multiple!" Driss warned as the klaxons began to sound. No sooner had Driss finished her sentence did the bridge shudder slightly as the beams connected with the hull.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ein demanded as he leapt up from his seat and glared at the smiling Arkean.

_"Very simple – did you think that we could possibly let you go, especially after you walked right into our hands willingly?"_ Tetyth replied and snapped his fingers, causing the viewscreen to go blank.

"Picking up micro hyperspace signatures," Driss exclaimed, "They're jumping in boarding crews!"

"Countermeasures!" Ein managed to yell to _Templar_ before the bridge was enveloped in a bright yellow light. As the light began to fade, he vaguely saw the outlines of several Arkean marines hoisting their weapons.

"Prepare for intruders!" Ein barked into the intercom before ducking behind his console. The next moment, a fine mist filled the bridge as smoke grenades were deployed, nearly dropping visibility to zero. This was accompanied by a cacophony of metallic clangs as bullets began ricocheting off walls and consoles.

"Lockdown in place, initiating ship-wide countermeasures," _Templar_ reported quickly before shimmering away from view.

And then there were several flashes and shrieks of pain as pure energy began arcing across the bridge, forming up into rectangular force field walls that shifted quickly to contain the intruders. At the same time, extra vents opened in the ceiling to quickly drain away the blinding mist. Ten seconds later, the Arkean marines came into plain view as the last of the mist was removed. There were nearly twelve of them in total, with the last marine being unfortunate enough to have been sliced and vaporised by the shifting force fields. All that remained of that unfortunate Arkean was a disgusting mess on the floor that Driss had to look away from. The remaining Arkeans could only stand in their newly-fashioned prisons, their weapons helpless against the superior force field technology.

"All intruders have been contained, the ship is secure," _Templar _announced as its hologram reappeared once more, "I have powered up the hyperfield drive so further jump-ins will be blocked."

"Good job _Templar_," Ein praised before realising that Driss was trying her best to work without looking at the bloodied remains of the dead Arkean.

"Initiating clean-up," _Templar_ spoke up as it seemed to read both their minds. There was a momentary gust of wind and a bright swirling light as the Arkeans, dead or alive, were whisked back onto their mothership via quantum tunnels. Before Ein could give his next order, the bridge shook again as some weapons fire slammed into the ship's hull.

"Looks like they've powered up internal defences," Driss warned as the bridge continued to shudder from the continuing assault.

"There was superficial damage to the outer hull before shields could be raised," _Templar_ added calmly, "Secondary shields holding at one hundred percent power… Alert, shield disruptions detected, failure in fifteen seconds."

"Captain, they're trying to disable our shields with some kind of energy field," Driss reported as she quickly worked at analysing the Arkeans' methods, "It seems to be similar to the field they used to block phased cannon blasts."

"Initiate adaptive shielding sequence!" Ein ordered.

"No effect, shield failure in five seconds," _Templar _warned.

"They forced our hand on this one," Ein muttered, "Activate all point defences – fire at will!"

The trapped Keeper-Destroyer opened fire, all six of its point defence ion beams surging from its hull and slashing away at anything and everything they could reach in the hangar. Even as delicate construction and repair equipment began crashing down from their mounts, other warships in the hangar quickly swivelled around to fire on the Progenitor ship.

"Shields down, outer hull armour taking damage," _Templar _warned, "Sir, I am picking up an increased quantum waveform distortion. They are trying to use their hyperdrive to overwhelm our hyperfield drive."

"How much time?" Ein asked worriedly, knowing that the Arkeans would be able to jump in masses of marines with impunity once that defence was brought down.

"I am recalibrating to compensate, but I estimate field integrity failure in two minutes," came the reply.

"Then prepare to raise primary shields and fire impulse cannons," Ein ordered.

"Captain, using quantum distortions and impulse cannons here could cause catastrophic damage to the mothership – there's no telling what'll happen to their colonists!" Driss exclaimed in protest.

"Atrocities aren't my style either, but we don't have a choice now do we?" Ein replied in a pained voice, fully understanding Driss' concerns, "_Templar_, on my mark: Three, two, one…"

Whereupon the bridge was gripped by a quake more violent than anything they had encountered before, forcing everyone to grip their seats tightly. The shrieks of the ship's superstructure could be heard plainly as _Templar_ pulled against the tractor beams holding it.

"Damage report! Were we hit?" Ein demanded.

"Negative on weapons hit captain, negative," Driss' voice came in over the renewed wails of the klaxons, "Rebel forces have jumped in – they are engaging the Arkeans now."

"How many ships?" Ein asked as the holographic tactical display shimmered into view before him, causing him to stare in stunned disbelief.

"More like 'How many fleets?'" came Driss' belated reply.


	28. Strategy Seven

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 26: STRATEGY SEVEN**

* * *

  
"_Templar_, I suppose the nova pulse isn't ready yet?" Ein asked as he quickly considered what few options they had.

"Negative, energy cells are still recharging," came the grim reply, "Remaining time to full charge: forty-two minutes."

"Then we have no choice but to flee," Ein uttered as he faced _Templar_ to give his next order, "Stand by to cut us off from the tractor beams and prepare to go to hyperstream…"

"So you will leave the Arkeans here to die after all?" Talos' voice came from the opening bridge doors.

"In case you were unaware – those same people just tried to commandeer this ship, even after all that we had done for them!" Ein countered angrily.

"So hundreds of thousands will die for the mistake of one misguided admiral?" Talos commented calmly as he walked straight up to the captain and stared him in the eye.

"Sir Talos, even if the Arkeans had not suddenly turned hostile we'd still be unable to fend for ourselves, much less protect them!" Ein answered, his patience wearing thin, "Right now there are four full Rebel fleets out there and altogether they have enough firepower to destroy _Templar_ a few times over!"

"What about the nova pulse weapon?" the unconvinced Frerrn asked, "Surely that'd be enough."

"Mr. Talos, if we had that option I'd have used it long ago!" Ein nearly yelled at the prime minister before calming himself once more, "So if you please – return to sickbay immediately and…"

Before Ein had a chance to finish, Talos had already stepped to his console and slammed his fist down on the communications controls, activating the open broadcast, "Rebel forces, stand down immediately! Or was one nova not enough?"

"What do you think you're doing, Talos?!" Ein exclaimed as he grabbed the Frerrn by the shoulder and pulled him away roughly. Just as he was about to shut off the broadcast, Driss interrupted in a voice filled with disbelief.

"I don't believe it sir, the Rebel forces are standing down!"

"What?"

"It's true – they are powering down weapons and releasing their locks on the Arkean mothership!" Driss repeated, "I have an incoming transmission from their command carrier, patching through."

"…_Filthy follower of Sajuuk, what do you want?"_ a rasping voice came in over the channel.

"Safe passage, for both ourselves and the Arkean mothership," Talos spoke into the channel as he shook himself free of Ein's grasp.

"_You demand too much for your own good,"_ the voice answered coldly, _"The Arkeans must die for what they have done."_

"If you do not comply then we will simply destroy every single ship that is stationed here," Talos countered confidently, "We have the means, and you have probably seen it yourself."

"_A weapon that creates a star… a most dangerous weapon indeed,"_ the Rebel commander admitted.

"Then lower your inhibitor fields at once and let us jump!" the Frerrn demanded.

"_Very well… lowering inhibitor fields…"_

"Hyperspace inhibitor fields are dissipating captain," Driss reported, "The Arkean mothership is clear to jump."

"Send a message to the Arkeans – tell them to set a course for M63 and engage hyperdrives," Ein ordered, stunned by what Talos had just done.

"One more thing – you will not send any ships to pursue us," Talos added with a smile, "If we so much as see a frigate within a hundred light years of the mothership, you can be assured of a new star in your neighbourhood."

"_Don't push your luck Follower!"_ the voice spat angrily in return.

"Well, we have a weapon and we won't hesitate to use it if need be," Talos answered calmly, "Do you comply?"

"…_We comply,"_ the voice gave one last reluctant answer before it ended the transmission.

Whereupon Talos turned around and walked calmly towards his seat, ignoring the incredulous gazes of the Progenitor captain. Only when he was completely strapped in did he look up squarely in Ein's face.

"Sometimes, all you need is a simple lie."

* * *

"We're now fifty light years away from the Rebel fleets," Driss reported from her console, sounding very relieved at the fact, "The Arkeans' quantum waveform is operating within normal parameters."

"What of the Arkeans?" Ein asked cautiously, "They've been rather quiet all this while."

"It would appear that they are more interested in repairing the damage to their mothership rather than try to commandeer this ship," _Templar_ answered in a bored voice as it summoned up a holographic display of the hangar bay they were in. Sure enough, the Arkeans were completely ignoring _Templar_'s presence and were instead attending to the internal damage caused both by _Templar_ and the Rebels' attack.

"Keep the nova pulse armed once it's fully charged – I've a feeling we'll still need it anyway," Ein said as he leaned back slightly in his chair and sighed.

"You know, now would be a good time to reinitiate negotiations with the Arkeans," Talos spoke up from his seat.

"Negotiate? Again?" came the exasperated response.

"They may have had second thoughts about their Admiral, especially after what he did to us – their allies," Driss added thoughtfully, "Though, you would do well to go with a full security detail this time."

"Remember that we could still use their intelligence on the Rebel presence in M63," Talos reminded, "Besides, I am sure that their terms will be more… favourable to us, given that we have saved their hides not just once but twice…"

As if on cue, Driss' console began beeping as it indicated an incoming transmission from the Arkean mothership. Quietly, she tapped a button and opened the channel before Ein could respond.

"…_Attention Captain Ein, this is Ambassador Lacrima,"_ came the familiar voice of the Arkean diplomat, _"On behalf of our people, I apologise for the dishonourable deed of our former admiral Sir Tetyth."_

"'Former admiral?'" Ein raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"_Let us say that his act of hostility against you and your crew was the final straw for our people, who unanimously decided on his immediate dismissal and incarceration,"_ Lacrima explained, _"For the ex-admiral's behaviour had become increasingly, shall we say, 'erratic' since a week ago."_

"So I guess you want to restart the negotiations anew?" Ein asked bluntly.

"_I understand that you have no obligation to comply, given the heinous crime that we have committed against you and your crew,"_ Lacrima conceded, _"Still, we hope that you will put these past events aside in favour of a long-term friendship between our people and your own empire."_

"In that case, I'm all for the idea," Ein responded, to the delight of the Arkean.

"…_You are a magnanimous one, Captain Ein,"_ Lacrima stated gratefully, _"Perhaps we could arrange a meeting at a time which is convenient…"_

"I'm fine with right now," came the quick reply, "Unless of course you need more time…"

"_Not at all! It is a perfectly reasonable request!"_ Lacrima quickly answered, _"An escort is en route to your ship even as we speak. That said, I look forward to meeting with you in these improved circumstances."_

* * *

  
"We meet again, Captain Ein," Lacrima greeted warmly as he bowed slightly before the Progenitor.

"Good to see you're fine, considering these circumstances," Ein returned the bow politely.

"I thank you for your concern," came the diplomatic reply, "Once again, I must apologise for our behaviour earlier on…"

"Please, let bygones be bygones," Ein interrupted, "Seeing as time is of the essence, perhaps we should resume our conversations now."

"But of course," the Arkean agreed wholeheartedly, directing Ein towards a seat at the table.

"Thank you for your understanding," Ein began as he made himself comfortable, "I'll get straight to the point - you claim to have intelligence on Rebel positions in this galaxy. Perhaps if I could have a look…"

"Certainly," Lacrima nodded, producing a data drive and plugging it into a port on the table. The lights in the room immediately dimmed as the table lit up like a viewscreen, displaying a map of the spiral galaxy M63 and the various positions of the Arkean fleet and any hostile forces.

"You are free to confirm the validity of this information however you want."

"I appreciate that," Ein responded as he tapped on his wrist communicator. The device lit up and proceeded to absorb all the information via a laser scan. As the scan concluded, the communicator's audio output crackled to life.

"_Driss here, we have the information. Commencing extended range scans now. Will get back to you when I have confirmed its validity."_

"Thank you," Ein answered before turning back to face Lacrima, "The validation will take a few minutes. In the meantime, I'd like to enquire as to the status of Sir Tetyth at the moment."

"He is in one of our prison cells right now, and we will be passing judgement on him once we're out of danger," came the reply, "That is all I can reveal at the moment."

"But you did mention that Sir Tetyth suddenly became erratic since a week ago…" Ein decided to try and pry further.

"Yes, before that he was the most respected military man in our society," Lacrima elaborated sadly, "We do not know for sure what caused the change, though we suspect a physical ailment. We will, of course, arrange a full medical examination before the trials."

"_Captain," _Ein's communicator activated again, _"Driss here. Preliminary scans seem to show that the information is indeed valid, at least regarding fixed Rebel positions in the vicinity."_

"What about fleet movements?"

"_Seeing as this intelligence seems to have been acquired quite some time ago, I wouldn't vouch for its accuracy in that aspect. I say this after considering our own scans of Rebel movements in the area."_

"Thank you for the work then," the Progenitor captain spoke before he closed the channel, "Sir Lacrima, the information is certainly adequate for our needs. Now, there is no free lunch in this world. So if there is anything in particular that…"

"You've done enough for us as it is," Lacrima refused quickly, "We could not possibly demand even more from you…"

"An equivalent exchange then," Ein quickly answered, "You see, we desire more information as to the schematics and origins of your own hyperdrive technology. In exchange, we will be willing to grant you the design and operational details of our own hyperstream technology."

The Arkean diplomat seemed to gawk at Ein's offer. Inhibitor-defying hyperstream technology in exchange for their supposedly more primitive hyperdrive plans?

"You must be thinking that this offer is too good to be true, and that your own hyperdrive is too obsolete for this to be considered an appropriate exchange," Ein chuckled slightly, "However, you did mention earlier that it was derived partially from Bentusi blueprints. Therefore, however obsolete it may be in relation to our own FTL drives, it is still of tremendous interest to us."

"I… I require more time to deliberate on this matter," Lacrima managed to give a reply.

"By all means," Ein stood up from the table as he said so, "In the meantime, if you would excuse me – I have need to return to my ship to discuss our future plans."

"Certainly," Lacrima acknowledged as he too got up to see the captain off, "It's been a pleasure speaking with you, Sir Ein."

* * *

"You will release me this instant!" the trapped admiral demanded from behind the bars, "Do you know who I am?"

"With all due respect Admiral Tetyth, you don't even have the title of 'Admiral' any more," the bulky Arkean guard answered as calmly as he could.

"On whose authority?"

"Rest of the Military Council, that's who."

"Ridiculous!" Tetyth exclaimed, "I am the military! The Council has no power over me!"

There was a roar as the guard finally lost it and dashed to the admiral's cell, holding a large rifle to Tetyth's temple.

"If you don't keep your mouth shut, admiral, then you'll have more to worry about than just the Council."

Strangely enough, the admiral didn't even cower from the threatening weapon aimed at his skull. Instead, he began to smile, his reptilian mouth stretching into a deranged grin.

"Dooming your kind with bold words – oh, the tragedy!" Tetyth declared as he began to laugh insanely, causing the guard to move away in disgust.

* * *

"I trust the negotiations must've gone well?" Driss asked when she saw a visibly relieved and pleased Ein step onto the bridge.

"Sir Lacrima is certainly a far more reasonable person than his superior," Ein answered as he walked leisurely to his seat. As he sat down, he looked around the bridge for a while, as if he were searching for someone, then frowned slightly.

"Sir Talos is in the ship's garden," Driss explained, "Said he needed to get a breather."

"Quite the daring character I must say," Ein admitted, "Lying through his teeth just now…"

"A gamble that paid off in the end," Driss finished for him.

"I have asked the Arkeans to provide details on their own hyperdrive schematics in exchange for hyperstream technology," Ein continued, "No doubt that Sir Talos will be able to provide valuable insight given his people's direct encounters with the Bentusi."

"And the Arkeans agree?"

"Lacrima is still considering the offer," answered Ein, "Though I am quite confident they will take it up. Hyperstream technology will make their life in M63 far easier."

"Speaking of which, sir, what do we do once we get back to M51?" Driss suddenly asked.

"Simple – we bring Sir Talos to see Master Sajuuk, assuming of course the situation has remained unchanged. Then we continue with the war."

"What about the Arkeans?" Driss added, "Do we simply leave them here to fend for themselves?"

"I don't think we'd have the resources to spare to deal with the Rebels as long as the Agemo are still around," came the reply.

"Perhaps we could let them through the gate…"

"No," Ein quickly replied, "As dangerous as the Rebels are, the Arkeans are probably much safer here than in M51."

"But we could use the additional help…"

"My mind is set," Ein repeated his stand, "It would be irresponsible of us to let them through. Given their technology… the losses they'd take would be unimaginable!"

"With all due respect sir – failing to stop the Blight would have consequences that are far more dire…"

"Lady Driss – if you continue I will be forced to dismiss you from the bridge," Talos cut her off sternly with his ultimatum, "Is that clear?"

For a few moments there was an uneasy silence on the bridge as captain and first officer stared at each other in some kind of face off. Only with the sudden beeping of the communications console did the icy atmosphere have a chance to thaw.

"…It's the Arkeans sir," Driss reported coldly as she patched the transmission through.

"Ambassador Lacrima I presume?" Ein greeted.

"_It is I, Captain Ein,"_ the diplomat answered.

"I presume you must have reached a decision regarding my proposal?" Ein asked hopefully.

"_After some deliberation, I am pleased to announce that the Council agrees to your terms,"_ Lacrima responded, _"We will transmit all information on our hyperdrive systems in exchange for your hyperstream drive schematics which you were so kind to offer."_

"Excellent! I shall begin the transfer…"

"…_However the Council would commit to the transfer on only one condition."_

"Which is…?" Ein sighed slightly in exasperation. Was this going to end like his conversation with Tetyth?

"_That you will let us jump with you through the hyperspace gate node."_

"Out of the question," Ein quickly snapped, "You have no idea…"

"_Please, hear me out first captain,"_ Lacrima requested, waiting for the captain to stop before continuing with his proposal, _"The urgency of your quest to reach the gate implies that there is something significant going on, something that we as allies should assist you with. I believe you understand that every ship counts in a war, whether they are primitive or not. Therefore it would be… tactically helpful if you would allow us to fight your enemies rather than leave us here to flounder with a foe that you do not deem worthy of attention."_

"You have no idea what we're dealing with Ambassador Lacrima," Ein answered swiftly, "By staying here in M63 you will be far safer, I guarantee you."

"_We are even prepared to provide you with whatever research data we have in exchange for the right to __proceed through the gate,"_ Lacrima persisted.

"No offence intended Ambassador, but I doubt your people would have anything of… _significant_ value to us scientifically…"

"_Please, at least have a look through our research archives. Perhaps there may be something of interest."_

The Progenitor captain let out an exasperated sigh. He had to admit that the Arkeans were a persistent, perhaps even stubborn, bunch. He could also scarcely imagine how naïve they must be to even think that they had research data of significance to the Progenitor Empire. Nonetheless, Ein wished not to offend Lacrima by turning him down outright.

"…Very well – I will have _Templar_ do the necessary analysis," Ein spoke into the channel, gesturing to _Templar_ to commence the task at once, "It will take a bit of time, therefore I ask for your patience."

"_Perfectly understandable – I eagerly await your reply,"_ Lacrima answered happily before closing the channel.

"Arkeans…" Ein muttered under his breath as he turned and started heading for the bridge doors. No sooner had he reached it did the ship's klaxons start wailing again.

"Rebel ships on intercept course via hyperspace," Driss reported instantly, her voice still frosty from her exchange with the captain, "The Arkean mothership is disengaging hyperspace – presumably to prevent jump interrupt damage. ETA: Two minutes."

"How nice of them to drop in," Ein uttered as he returned to his position, "_Templar_, launch and prepare to engage."

_Templar_ nodded in silence and with a single command sent the Keeper-Destroyer soaring out of the mothership's hangar bay and into open space. There was a flash of vermillion as _Templar_'s energy shielding was activated, surrounding the hull in a brilliant glow of light. Then the ship turned sleekly around to face the zone where the Rebel fleets were expected to disengage hyperspace.

Sure enough, a multitude of yellow hyperspace windows opened before the lone Progenitor ship, depositing into normal space their cargoes of Progenitor Rebel warships. The sight of nearly four Progenitor battle fleets hanging before them with full heavy cruiser escorts was something that caused worry to even the experienced captain. Still, things were different now.

"Forgotten our arrangement this quickly?" Ein began sarcastically.

"_Silence – I will speak only with the captain,"_ the Rebel commander snarled back.

"I am the captain of this ship and you will speak only to me," came the quick reply, "Now will you leave, or will you stay and be defeated?"

"_It is you who will be defeated,"_ the commander spoke in a rather ingratiating tone now, _"Perhaps you are somehow unable to deploy your nova pulse weapon. Perhaps it is all a simple lie…"_

"Correction," Ein cut in and smiled when _Templar_ indicated that full charge had been reached, "It _was_ a simple lie."

Before the Rebel commander could respond, an aqua arc of quantum energy linked _Templar_ to the gathered fleets, disappearing as the gathered ships were engulfed in a mighty sphere of violet plasma.

"Deception can be quite a handy thing to have around in war, captain," Talos mentioned as he watched the stellar spectacle from the bridge entrance, "To use feints and later on create something from nothing is invaluable in battle."

"It certainly is, Sir Talos," Ein nodded respectfully in return, "I will certainly bear your words in mind."

"Sensors confirm the complete destruction of the Rebel fleets captain," _Templar_ mentioned, watching intently as the artificial star burned itself out, "I have also completed preliminary analysis of the Arkeans' research archives."

"…And I presume there was nothing of interest?" Ein shrugged his shoulders, "Then I suppose we should contact Lacrima…"

"…Actually, captain, I did chance upon something… _curious_," _Templar_ admitted, the AI's voice sounding slightly awed and perhaps even dumbfounded.

"What do you mean?" the captain demanded, his voice quavering slightly with surprise.

The ship did not answer, but instead dimmed the bridge lights as the main holographic projector was activated. _Templar_'s avatar vanished and was quickly replaced with what seemed to be the detailed schematics of some sort of energy transference device.

"…An energy conduit?" Ein asked after a quick scan of the design plans, "But the dimensions and capacities are far too limited for any kind of industrial use."

"Partially correct captain," _Templar_ answered, "However, this particular system shuttles not just any energy, but…"

"But what?"

"…Bio-quantum energy," the ship continued with great effort, "_Consciousness transfer_ so to speak."


	29. Revelation

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 27: REVELATION**

* * *

Captain Ein stared incredulously at _Templar_, then at the schematics displayed before him. All around the bridge, Progenitor officers and personnel reacted similarly, gazing wide-eyed at the holographic display.

"…I have checked the designs very thoroughly and there is no doubt about their purpose," _Templar_ spoke up once more to vanquish any last doubt that anyone might have had, "Shall I reopen the channel?"

"Yes… please do…" Ein managed to say as he struggled to regain his composure. The audio channel crackled to life as the Arkean ambassador shimmered into plain view on the main viewscreen.

"_Captain Ein!"_ Ambassador Lacrima began in a delighted tone, _"You've found something that interests you, I hope?"_

"It was not quite what we expected, but…" Ein responded, trying his best to keep his voice calm and composed, "It seems that there is something of tremendous value to us."

"_So you would let us accompany your ship in exchange for the necessary data?"_

"I cannot emphasise enough how dangerous it will be for you to follow us," the Progenitor captain repeated his stand once again, "The war we are fighting is nothing like what you have encountered before."

"_The Council has made a decision, and that decision is for us to follow you and aid you as allies,"_ came the firm reply.

Ein hesitated at that point, trying to fathom the various possibilities and consequences that could occur as a result. For he had seen first hand the methods of the Agemo and the way they had laid waste to entire worlds and civilizations. If he agreed to bring the Arkeans to M51, there was no telling what effects their unprecedented information on the Agemo's methods could have on the war. Yet there was also the chance that they would become another statistic, another tragic casualty and victim of the Blight. It was a fate that no sentient race deserved.

"_Have you reached a decision Captain?" _Lacrima enquired upon observing the troubled look on Ein's face, _"If you require more time, we would gladly…"_

"I must ask this one more time," Ein interrupted the ambassador, staring straight into the glossy reptilian eyes, "Is the Council absolutely sure about this decision they have made? Because I cannot guarantee your people's safety if you follow us through the gate."

"_I can only say again that the Council's decision is final,"_ Lacrima responded determinedly, returning the stare that Ein gave him, _"Whatever the consequences of this decision, we as a people will face it to the very end."_

The Progenitor captain hesitated one last time, giving the proposal one last think through. Then he let out a sigh and gestured silently to Driss. A moment later, all of their information on hyperstream technology was uploaded to the Arkean computers.

"_You agree?"_ Lacrima exclaimed, his voice thrilled at the prospect, _"By initiating this data transfer I take it that…"_

"It is with much reluctance that I agree to your proposal, Ambassador Lacrima," Ein answered gravely, "I can only hope that what I've done was the right thing."

"_You must not worry unduly about niceties such as existence, genocide and all,"_ came the reply, _"It is, after all, our decision to make as a people, not yours. We will answer to our own actions. Now, what is it that you desire from our archives?"_

"This," Ein answered quickly, tapping the console before him and highlighting the data entry that had so amazed them not so long ago. Lacrima glanced down at his own console to interpret the data before returning his slightly surprised gaze to the captain.

"…_You speak of one of the greatest revolutionary breakthroughs in Arkean sciences,"_ Lacrima began, _"Yet it could be considered philosophy as well, considering how it blurs the boundaries between what we once believed to be mutually exclusive disciplines."_

"Philosophy?" Ein asked in puzzlement, "Is it not simply a matter of energy conversion and transference – a matter of harnessing it with the appropriate means?"

"_Understandably, you still see the psyche as a side effect of being self-conscious, of being alive,"_ Lacrima answered with an enigmatic reptilian smile on his face, _"Perhaps I could arrange a meeting with our brightest mind on this subject?"_

"It would be greatly appreciated," Ein nodded gratefully, "Transmitting to us figures and mathematical formulae is one thing, but understanding the concepts behind it would take considerably more work."

"_Very well – I will see to the necessary arrangements,"_ the ambassador replied diplomatically, _"I will pass along a message when I manage to find a spot in the Provost's schedule. He is quite a busy one."_

"Thank you for your help," Ein spoke before closing the channel.

"I suppose we should go and freshen up before the lecture," Driss mentioned as she got up from her seat and stretched her stiff limbs.

"Yes, we should," Ein nodded at his first officer. As he gestured for Talos to take his leave, he couldn't help but ponder the implications of Lacrima's words.

* * *

"Is everything alright?" Driss enquired when she noticed the fatigue on Talos' face, "You do not seem to be in the best of spirits."

"I am quite fine, thank you very much," the Frerrn answered, his tired smile revealing all.

"You're worried about your people," Driss spoke again, "And the situation in M51."

"To say that I am worried is quite the understatement," Talos revealed, pausing to lean against the corridor wall, "How long has it been since our exile from M51?"

"Nearly a week," came the calm reply, "However I am quite confident that Sir Sajuuk has the situation under control."

"I do not wish to come across as being rude, Lady Driss," the prime minister began, "But I am starting to have… doubts as to the competence of Sir Sajuuk."

"And why do you say this all of a sudden?"

"That battle at the outpost – it was certainly tipped in your favour," Talos explained, "It did not seem that the Mythra could possibly emerge victorious."

"Yet they did, in a way," Driss conceded with a sigh, "The self-destruct sequence was quite the surprise to us all. None of us expected it."

"Which is why I am starting to wonder if this is a war that we can win, even with your people's help," the Frerrn lamented, "You see – in all the time since the reception of Sir Sajuuk's transmission, I have been under the impression that however disastrous the arrival of the Blight might be, intervention on your people's part would halt them and bring peace to the Galaxy once more."

"But recent events such as that battle are beginning to make you think otherwise, am I correct?"

"If I may be blunt: that engagement reeked of poor tactical deployment," Talos stated plainly, "For it seems to me that Sir Sajuuk is relying on pure technological and energy superiority to achieve his victories. And if that is his doctrine, then I cannot fathom how we could possibly emerge victorious against the Agemo."

"In a way, you are right, yes," Driss admitted, "Indeed, it seems to be the case. But I can only ask you to maintain your trust in Sir Sajuuk."

"And could you give me some solid reasons as to why I should continue to do so, despite this apparent tactical inaptitude on his part?"

"Sir Sajuuk is a very wise one, perhaps one of the wisest and greatest in all our civilisation's history," Driss explained patiently, "Perhaps he meant for the battle to end that way, perhaps even meant for us to come here. We cannot even begin to fathom his thoughts and considerations."

"Benefit of the doubt then?"

Driss nodded quietly, "Captain Ein and myself are but soldiers of the Empire – the ones who get their hands dirty, if you will. While some tactical and strategic decisions are made at our level, the grand scheme of things remains in the hands of Sir Sajuuk himself. All of us are answerable to him and will remain so, for he has never been wrong."

"In that case…" Talos paused for a moment to think over Driss' words, "…I suppose I can only do as you say."

"Thank you, Sir Talos."

"Let us hope Sir Sajuuk maintains the track record," the Frerrn mentioned before moving on his way.

* * *

The doors slid open to reveal a lush auditorium, decorated in a similar underwater style that the short-lived diplomatic hall had sported. Yet there were some key differences in the layout, differences that gave one the feeling that this was a place of learning rather than a place of politics.

"Our own academies could take a few pointers from this," Driss mentioned lightly as she walked over to the designated seats.

"It wouldn't necessarily be a good thing - such comforts would encourage slumber," came the politically correct reply from the captain, to which Driss gave a resigned sigh.

"Yet a complete elimination of aesthetics would be too… harsh, I say," Talos added as he took his seat.

"Quite the varied opinions we have here," a new voice with the same slippery Arkean accent filled the air. Turning towards the side, Talos saw a robed Arkean walking in from a side entrance, his long silvery robes giving him an air of elegance that the military personnel lacked.

"Provost Lumos!" Lacrima greeted warmly as he moved forth to escort the distinguished professor to his place beside the trio, "I must apologise for the short notice given…"

"No, it is I who should apologise for this late arrival," the Arkean bowed respectfully to the new 'students' before him, "I would have come earlier, but commitments did not permit me to do so."

"Allow me to introduce you to Captain Ein of the Progenitor Keeper-Destroyer _Templar_," Lacrima gestured towards the captain, who stood up and returned the bow, "And accompanying him are his first officer Lady Driss and Prime Minister Talos of the Frerrn Aggregate."

"Varied vocations indeed," Lumos noted as he made himself comfortable on his seat, "Well then, enough of the niceties. What is it that you would like to know?"

Silence reigned for a few awkward seconds as the Progenitor officers struggled to formulate a response. What was it that they wanted to know, given that they knew absolutely nothing about what they were about to discover?

"…Perhaps the Provost would like to comment on the psyche," Talos spoke up quickly, much to the relief of Ein and Driss, "And on matters regarding the consciousness and what it is that makes us sentient."

"That is a very good question Minister Talos," Lumos smiled warmly at his guests, "The psyche, or what some of you would call the soul, is what gives us our individuality, our personality. It is what makes us who we are. Our own religions of old, and perhaps yours too, speak of its enduring eternity beyond life and death."

"Yes, do carry on," Talos nodded in agreement.

"However, the psyche has for centuries been a rather intangible concept for scholars and philosophers alike, given that there was no means with which we could measure or confirm the existence of such a thing," Lumos continued, "It was not until the discovery of hyperspace technology that we accidentally found ourselves with the means of quantifying its existence."

"Accidentally?" Ein asked, "Could you elaborate, seeing as we encountered no such 'accidents' in our own progresses with hyperspace technology?"

"The very nature of accidents is chaotic – ours was a mere lucky chance," the Arkean explained, "Let me say that in our initial tests with prototype reverse-engineered hyperspace modules, we chanced upon a an individual who was somehow able to manipulate the generated quantum wavefields…"

"Quantum wavefield manipulation?" Driss uttered in disbelief, "By sheer will of mind? Impossible!"

"Perhaps I should rephrase – rather than outright manipulation per se, one of our pioneer researchers noticed minor fluctuations in the quantum wavefields that corresponded with neural activity in one of the subjects. The circumstances that led him to make this conclusion were entirely by chance – the subject in question had fainted during his work, complaining of dizziness and nausea beforehand. The medics suspected a stroke or possibly a late-stage tumour and so commenced a neural analysis scan on the spot within the vicinity of the quantum wavefield."

"It was later diagnosed to be an acute infection of the digestive tract, which he recovered from fairly quickly," Lumos quickly added to answer the curious look on Ein's face, "But at any rate, a relationship between neural activity and quantum wavefield fluctuations was quickly established. Further research led to postulations that since neural activity is a precursor to the mind then the mind must be, by extension, precursor to the psyche and soul. And the rest of it is history."

"History?" Talos queried, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to believe what he had just heard.

"Research into whether the psyche was somehow related to quantum energies and all the details," Lumos answered, "It took many years, and work was interrupted on many occasions thanks in no part to your Rebel enemies, but eventually a particular range of frequencies was isolated and deemed to be the domain of the psyche and soul."

"You mean to say that you have definitively concluded the psyche to be just another form of… energy?" Driss asked, staring incredulously at the Arkean before them.

"A few orders of magnitude above the four-dimensional frequencies that make hyperspace travel possible, yes," Lumos replied casually, "It's just a rough guideline really, for we have reason to believe that the psyche also occupies regions of the quantum spectrum far higher than what we can observe with our current technology."

"And to think that in all this time, our own scientists were suggesting that somehow the consciousness transference and harvests were more a matter of uprooting the native bioelectricity patterns and somehow amplifying them sufficiently to power their vessels…" Ein muttered.

"Sorry, I heard something about amplifying and power?" Lumos asked innocently.

"No, it was nothing," Ein quickly dismissed the Provost's query, "Could you explain to us the mechanics of these… transference schematics?"

"It would be my pleasure," came the warm reply, "Though I must add that this highly-decorated prototype is nothing more than a toy designed to experiment on the natures of bio-quantum energy, which is the term we use to name the power underlying the psyche."

"So could this… toy… be used to, for instance, execute a…"

"…a transfer of consciousness?" Lumos filled in the rest of Ein's sentence, "Of course not. We have hardly mastered the practical aspects of this theory ourselves! To execute a full consciousness transfer we would require a device that can pull over entire ranges of energy frequencies simultaneously and without losses. This prototype is only capable of transferring singular and isolated energy frequencies."

"But would such a thing be possible?" Ein questioned further.

"In theory yes," the Provost answered, "If we had such a capable device in existence there would be no doubts as to its ability to, for example, exchange your own mind with Lady Driss' mind. Though we cannot even begin to fathom why anyone would want such a thing."

As the Provost spoke that sentence, the three of them could only look helplessly at each other, uncomfortable in the knowledge that there were beings who would take that step past all ethical boundaries just to further their own goals.

"Are there anymore questions for me?" Lumos asked, "Or can I leave it to you to interpret your own data, which I believe has already been transmitted into your databanks, with these insights I have given you?"

"I have one more query," Talos spoke up once more, "Given that your theories place the psyche in the same quantum spectrum that hyperspace fundamentals use, could it be possible that certain individuals could somehow, by will of mind, manipulate quantum wavefields or other aspects of quantum energies?"

"Manipulate?" Lumos raised a scaly eyebrow, "Please elaborate."

"Manipulate as in execute seemingly impossible tasks," Talos explained, "Such as teleportation over distances, telekinesis…"

"What you speak of is mentioned only in tales of lore and fiction," Lumos smiled, "But yes, in theory, it would be possible, albeit only in the presence of a quantum wavefield or a quantum waveform generation device such as a hyperdrive. In such a scenario, I imagine that the individual would be able to 'teleport' by simply manipulating the wavefield so that he hyperspaces to his target destination. Telekinesis would be a matter of establishing localized quantum distortion fields to move objects or form protective barriers."

"What about tactile Unboundness?"

"Unbound?" the Provost looked blankly at the Frerrn, "I am sorry – I do not understand…"

"What I mean is, to ascend one's mind into a computer electronic system by means of touch or sheer thought," Talos explained as he tried to recall all the details about the mysterious Kiir Sjet.

"That one, I'm afraid I do not know," Lumos replied in a regretful voice, "I can however suggest its probability provided the user is able to manipulate the quantum mechanics behind matter itself, which would thus allow him to translate his mind into a different format, in this case a computerized digital one. But this is purely speculation and highly unlikely. The mental prowess involved in such a feat would be immense…"

"I see," Talos mused upon hearing the Provost's explanation.

"I may add that this is one particular area of interest which our researchers are currently looking into, regarding the link between the psyche and quantum wavefields," the professor went on, "We started these endeavours only recently, and so far our only hypothesis is that exposure to focused quantum energies may allow individuals to become more attuned to the quantum spectrum, thus allowing them to manipulate other quantum energy frequencies via the psyche, or as you say, by will of mind alone."

"I think he just explained the Hyperspace Core effect," Driss whispered to Ein.

"So it took a race of reptiles to figure out what we couldn't understand for the entirety of our existence," Ein mused thoughtfully, feeling humbled by that knowledge.

"Is there anything else then?" Lumos asked one last time.

"That is all," Ein stood up and shook the Provost warmly by the hand, "Thank you very much for taking time off to explain these concepts to us."

"Not at all," Lumos nodded respectfully at the captain before he turned to take his leave.

* * *

"…If the psyche were just energy then it explains everything!" Driss exclaimed as they stepped back onto the bridge of _Templar_, which had just left the Arkean docking bay "Captain, you do realize what the implications could be?"

Ein remained silent, his mind still staggering from all the mysteries that had been solved in a single face-to-face discussion with a so-called "Primitive" being. Driss' words were plain truth – For millennia the mysteries of the Agemo consciousness technology had gone unsolved, leaving them to fumble in the dark for feasible counters to the Agemo war technology. For millennia their own scientists had grappled with the puzzling question of how a simple amplification of bioelectric neural patterns could grant the Agemo so much power. And now…

"…I must admit that I am amazed by these insights," _Templar_ spoke up after it interpreted the audio recordings that were uploaded into its databanks, "By classifying the psyche as quantum energy it certainly opens up many new avenues of possibility, as well as providing answers to the deficiencies of our own technology."

"Deficiencies?" Talos asked as he walked up to _Templar_'s avatar.

"I must apologise for not briefing you beforehand Sir Talos, but…" _Templar_ looked towards Captain Ein hesitantly, who nodded silently in reply.

"Very well – I will show you everything," _Templar_ began as it dimmed the bridge lights and amplified the holographic projector, bringing an image of an Agemo megalith into plain sight. Upon closer scrutiny, Talos realized it was not the standard megalith that the Alliance had fought against, but rather the moon megalith that Driss had shown him on the sly previously.

"This is the Command Megalith," _Templar_ stated, "This is where it all began, and where it must end."

"The Command Megalith is the core of the Agemo forces," Driss explained from her console, "It is where they house the bulk of their people and presumably the bulk of their knowledge. It is their weakest and strongest point. Bring down the Command Megalith…"

"…And the Agemo will be stoppable," _Templar_ finished for her, "Scout and intelligence data is sketchy, but it seems that every time a civilization nearly repels or destroys the Agemo, the tables are turned when the Command Megalith enters the picture."

"Which is why you call it their strongest point as well?" queried the Frerrn.

"Correct – for it is easily the heaviest-armed warship we have seen in the local Supercluster," _Templar_ replied, "And this is due to it being the only Agemo vessel to be equipped with bio-quantum weapons and defence technology."

"The Command Megalith uses the pure power of the psyche to defend itself, a shield of souls so to speak," Driss explained, "The combined power of all those psyches creates a wall with resilience no quantum distortion field could hope to match. It is worth noting that to date, we have yet to see any weapon capable of penetrating the megalith's defence field."

"On the other hand, the Command Megalith's weapons use pure psyche energy, which is highly potent and destructive to any known matter just like any other quantum weapon," _Templar_ continued, "The only difference being that it is unaffected by quantum distortion fields and passes right through…"

"…And since distortion fields are your primary form of defence it creates quite a few problems if we were to attack the megalith head on," Talos commented.

"Sir Talos, if I may correct you," Driss cut in again, "It's not that quantum distortion fields are our primary defence, but the fact that their psyche weapons cannot be stopped by any other known defensive field, save a psyche defence field. And such a defence field can only be formed if, according to what the Provost has revealed…"

"…if we resort to their methods as well," Ein interjected suddenly, "Which is the one thing that Sir Sajuuk will never agree on."

"So by extension, since only bio-quantum weapons could have a chance at penetrating a bio-quantum shield…" Talos trailed off.

There was a heavy silence as the reality of the situation sank in.

"Perhaps we wouldn't have to resort to their methods," Talos suggested, "Perhaps we could artificially generate such energy frequencies to power our own weapon variants…"

"I can see what you are getting at Sir Talos, but according to my calculations it is not feasible," _Templar_ answered grimly, "The energy costs of such an endeavour would be immense – only our super capital class reactors would be capable of powering such weapons, and even then those would be light weapon variants that are incapable of doing significant damage to the Command Megalith."

"I think that's enough discussion for the day," Ein interrupted as he walked over to his command seat, "As we speak the Arkeans are refitting their fleet with hyperstream drives and technology. While we have also transmitted along schematics for construction nanites that will greatly accelerate the retrofit process, it will be at least forty-eight hours before they can use hyperstream. In the meantime, we will have to move on without them and conduct reconnaissance operations around the gate node. Hopefully the Rebels won't realize the gate is our target and make trouble for us."

"A rather optimistic prediction," Talos commented as he strapped himself in.

"Regardless, we must return to M51 ASAP and get this information to Sir Sajuuk," Driss mentioned as she keyed in the necessary coordinates.

"Coordinates set, awaiting further orders captain," _Templar_ reported as it acknowledged the new data.

Ein nodded, and the Keeper-Destroyer flashed into hyperstream.


	30. The Road to M51

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 28: THE ROAD TO M51

* * *

**_  
What an astounding secret you have finally discovered.

* * *

  
_

"It is as we suspected," Driss mentioned with dismay upon interpreting the sensor data, "The path ahead will not be an easy one."

"Your description is most apt," _Templar_ nodded in response as the avatar gestured towards the holographic display, "Long range scans coupled with probe recon have revealed Rebel squadrons patrolling all hyperspace jump routes into the sector."

"A good thing then that we gave hyperstream tech to the Arkeans," Ein mused.

"There is more to come," _Templar_ continued, increasing magnification of the immediate vicinity of the gate, "112-A itself is heavily guarded by no fewer than three full Rebel carrier fleets with accompanying heavy cruiser escorts. Word of our presence must have reached the defence forces, for they are suitably scattered so as to render nova pulse virtually useless in battle. However, of most pressing concern are these eight structures surrounding the gate."

The main viewscreen flickered to life, revealing a strange dark starfish-shaped vessel that elicited a startled gasp from Talos.

"If it is any comfort to you Sir Talos, they are not the so-called 'planet killers' that were witnessed at Hiigara," the ship explained, "The design may be similar, but I assure you their purpose is quite different."

"... Do continue, I did not mean to interrupt," came the slightly shaken reply.

"They are arranged in a circular orbit around the gate and are emitting a weak quantum distortion field. The field is primitive compared with my own capabilities of course, but is nonetheless quite adequate in isolating the gate sufficiently from the quantum spectrum."

"In short, the gate is effectively cut off from the _Eye_ itself, and is hence useless unless we can destroy all the inhibitors," Driss explained with a sigh, "This will be difficult, considering that they are partially plated with the same armour that the 'planet killers' were equipped with."

"Of the armament I currently possess, the nova pulse is quite capable of the complete destruction of the structures while impulse cannons are partially effective. Ion warp turrets will be so minimally effective as to be considered useless."

"But therein lies another problem," Ein muttered as he reached the unhappy conclusion, "Nova pulse blast radius will need to be localised so as not to cause any collateral damage to the gate, meaning we will need to use one nova pulse for each inhibitor. Weapon recharge times make this infeasible, especially in the light of our tactical disadvantage."

"Is it a must for the gate to communicate with the _Eye_ in order to activate?" Talos asked suddenly, "Surely the gate node is capable of forming a quantum tunnel on its own?"

"Sir Talos, _Eye_ gates are quite capable of establishing extragalactic quantum tunnels even without the assistance of receiving gates – in fact their energy levels are so immense that it would require the presence of a supergiant class singularity within a few light years' distance to achieve any form of hyperspatial disruption to the gate nodes themselves," Driss explained patiently, "The problem lies in the fact that the gate node still requires coordinates to function – coordinates that it must obtain from the central _Eye_ system. As long as the inhibitors remain to cut off the node from the _Eye_, it is merely a useless derelict to us."

"Then why can't we simply key in our own coordinates to the gate and have it jump us there?"

"For reasons of safety," Driss continued, "Energy-wise a receiving gate is not needed yes – but over extremely long jumps such as these the quantum energy levels involved are fairly immense. This exponentially increases the probability of an 'eternity effect' occurring."

"Eternity effect?"

"The phenomenon by which a quantum tunnel is unable to open back out into normal space by virtue of its sheer energy level and hence elevated position in the quantum spectrum. A ship caught in such a tunnel would be doomed to be lost in hyperspace forever," Driss explained grimly, "The receiving gate is therefore needed to 'force' an exit point to the tunnel should it fail to emerge. I should also say that eternity effects have been observed in as many as twelve percent of mere intragalactic gate jumps in the short time the _Eye_ was active during our golden era."

"After factoring in statistical history, my calculations indicated that a one-way gate tunnel to M51 would have a thirty-nine percent probability of ending in eternity effect," _Templar_ added, "Therefore the possibility was considered, but deemed to be far too risky for our situation."

"I should think it would be far riskier to attempt remote gate activation via a Neo-Beast infected _Eye_," Talos reminded politely, "Or have you taken that into account as well?"

"I have factored that into my calculations," the ship's avatar turned to stare coldly at the Frerrn minister, as if it was insulted by Talos' doubtful comments, "The primary issue that remains is restoring the quantum communications link between the gate node and the core _Eye_ systems."

"Cool down _Templar_," Ein quickly interjected, "And no need to reassure me of your lack of emotion hardware. Do you have any recommendations?"

"All combat simulations run within current data parameters have ended in failure," came the blunt reply, "All I can suggest in the current scenario is that, at minimum, the Arkeans will need to be centralised to their mothership and the rest of their fleet automated under my control."

"An interesting suggestion," Ein mused, "Can you speak more of that particular simulation?"

"By centralising the Arkeans to their mothership we not only minimise loss of life, but also allow better defence coverage of critical targets – in this case the single mothership. Automation of the Arkean warships will additionally allow their use as decoys in the battle scenario, allowing me time to bring my weapons to bear on hostiles or targets of opportunity. Failure of the scenario is, however, definite because attrition rates exceed our own objective completion by a very wide margin. Even at full combat efficiency I can only guarantee the destruction of five inhibitors before the Arkean mothership becomes vulnerable."

"This is your conclusion, even after factoring in their phased cannon defences?" Ein asked.

"Further sensor analysis of the Arkean phased cannon defences reveal that they are not entirely foolproof and that they occasionally fail to stop phased cannon blasts," the ship explained, "Because of the uncertainty involved I did not deem it necessary..."

"Re-run the simulation, this time with their phased cannon defences," Ein ordered.

"One moment..." _Templar_ bowed down for several seconds before returning its gaze to the captain, "In the worst-case scenario, five inhibitors will be neutralised."

"And the best-case?"

"Seven of the eight inhibitors will be neutralised as the Arkean mothership becomes vulnerable," the ship reported, "However you must understand that the best-case scenario assumes that the Arkean phased cannon defences are one hundred percent successful, which is not the case."

"We'll really be pushing our luck in this one then..." Ein muttered as he tried to materialise a solution in his mind.

"I may suggest diplomacy," Talos mentioned mildly as he pondered the scenario, "But that is with the assumption that you have another trump card other than the nova pulse weapon, preferably something the Rebels have yet to encounter."

"Assuming and preferably yes," the captain responded with a sigh, "In hindsight I should've opted for the war configuration retrofitting before rescuing you, Sir Talos."

"It is too late for regrets now," came the reply, "At any rate, the limiting factor now is the fact that the Arkeans insist on coming with us. How does the scenario change if we exclude them?"

"Without the Arkeans to protect the mission objectives are greatly simplified," Templar answered quickly, "Through the judicious use of evasive manoeuvres and phase-shift it becomes possible to neutralise all the inhibitors with minimal damage to my own systems."

"Well then," Talos faced Ein plainly, "There is our answer."

"You would suggest that we break our word to the Arkeans?"

"I believe you were quite adamant in allowing the Arkeans to join the battle against the Agemo in the first place," Talos reasoned, "And since it seems we can scarcely guarantee their safety on the journey alone, it may be... best to adhere to your original plans."

"You know the Arkeans will not like this very much," Ein warned.

"I never said it was an easy choice to make," Talos commented as he watched the scenario replay over and over again, only to always end in the same outcome.

"If we move now we should be able to complete the mission and jump back to M51 without involving the Arkeans," Driss mentioned to the captain after a quick time calculation, "The Arkeans are not expected to complete hyperstream upgrades for another twelve hours at least. Even then, power requirements will commit them to a minimum four hour charge phase before they can hyperstream here."

"I apologise for interrupting the discussion, but it would seem that we are left with no choice," _Templar_ spoke up suddenly as he shifted the projector's focus back to the gate, now surrounded by angry red dots and various lines indicating weapons fire, "The Rebel ships have begun attacking the gate."

"I don't believe this – how could they have known?" Ein uttered as he watched the scene unfold, "_Templar_, maximum hyperstream – get us to the gate now."

As the stars streaked into the infinite lines of hyperstream, Ein could only mutter a silent apology to the people they were leaving behind.

* * *

_And now we shall see who is the faster of us two.

* * *

  
_

"Hyperstream disengaged, raising..." _Templar_ paused as it began receiving data from the close range scanners, "Priority alert – Neo-Beast biosignatures detected!"

"Neo-Beast? Here?" Ein's eyes widened as he saw the holographic display update accordingly, showing the dreaded crimson glow spread to encompass nearly the entirety of the Rebel defence forces. Talos could only take a few steps back in stunned shock as the horrific memories of the previous war came flooding back.

"It would seem that the Rebel vessels' infection payloads were somehow able to breach containment," Driss reported as she interpreted the multitude of sensor data _Templar_ was now uploading to her console, "The breach occurred very recently, which would explain the sudden change in the Rebel forces' behaviour."

"Are there any survivors?"

"Several frigates and cruisers, but even they are being subverted at an incredible rate..." Driss responded as she watched the infected Keepers fire off wave after wave of infection beams.

"How is that possible?" Ein demanded, "From what I see here they all have their shields up, unless..."

"...Phase-shifting!" Driss exclaimed in a horrified voice, "The infection beams are phase-shifted! They are completely bypassing standard energy shielding!"

All eyes turned to the main viewscreen as _Templar_ increased the magnification accordingly. Sure enough, the surviving Rebel ships were all enveloped in the familiar vermilion glow of Progenitor energy shielding. However, the quivering crimson bolts of infection were simply piercing right through the energy barriers like they weren't even there, coating the doomed ships with billions of the voracious nanites.

"Shutting down secondary energy shielding and shunting power to primary distortion field," _Templar_ updated quickly.

"Even so, let's not take any risks with the infection," Ein declared, "Maximum evasive – priority targets are the infected ships attacking the gate!"

Two flashes of white light announced the firing of the first salvo of impulse cannon blasts. The spheres of glittering plasma shot towards their destination – the flotilla of infected ships blocking _Templar_'s path to the gate. Before the infected ships could react, the spheres exploded and released their lethal plasma and gravitational payloads. Those nearest to ground zero were vaporised in the blinding light, while the shockwaves crippled the remaining ships.

Taking advantage of the newly-opened hole in the defence forces, _Templar_ surged straight through with ion warps blazing, the violet energy beams twisting in the gravitational embrace of their turrets and slashing away at any ship that ventured near. More explosions began lighting up the battlefield as infected frigates fell prey to _Templar_'s attacks.

Then collision alarms wailed as an infected Keeper moved to block the invader's advance. With a near-instantaneous reaction time, _Templar_ darted to the side nimbly as a trio of infection beams surged past. The AI then returned the favour, connecting three of its ion beams to a single point on the shielded enemy. It took only mere moments for the beams to establish the correct energy frequency and pass through, piercing the infected Keeper like a series of well-aimed rapier thrusts.

"We have broken through the primary defence line," _Templar_ announced.

"Status update on the gate!" Ein ordered.

"The defence nanites appear to be holding off infection attacks for the moment but it will not be for long," came the report from Driss, "The remaining Rebel ships are also rallying around the gate in defensive formations – this could work to our advantage."

"What of the inhibitors?"

"The infected ships seem to be more focused on the gate and its defenders at the moment."

"Then we'll make use of this extra time. _Templar_, commence destruction of the inhibitors."

The robed avatar nodded and plunged the ship down towards one of the menacing-looking structures. Another salvo of impulse blasts streaked towards the inhibitor, impacting the outer hull and enveloping the structure in that familiar deathly light. As the light faded, Ein saw that one of the five arms had broken off the still-functioning central core.

"Maintaining attack," _Templar_ reassured as it fired the impulse cannons again, "Auto-targeting weak points in the superstructure."

"I understand that this might not be the best time," Talos spoke up suddenly from his seat, "But how exactly are we going to remotely activate the gate via the central _Eye_, which is infected?"

"You will have to thank Sir Sajuuk for the innovation then," Driss replied even as she continued to work effortlessly, "I lack the time to explain the details at the moment, but the general gist is that we will overload the nanites' quantum net via a specially-calibrated communications channel and force ourselves into the _Eye_'s core systems. From there we will then remotely activate the way back home."

"If you are curious to know more, I have uploaded datafiles regarding the plan to your information panel in your personal quarters," _Templar_ added helpfully, "You may later read it at your leisure after the situation stabilises."

"That is surprisingly thoughtful of you, _Templar_," Ein commented snidely.

"I am merely responding to a query for information, nothing more," the ship declared nonchalantly, "Confirming the destruction of the first inhibitor."

All eyes turned to the main viewscreen as the arms of the first inhibitor slowly broke away from the main structure, splintering into jagged pieces of strained and scarred metal. Secondary detonations then began tearing through the ruined core, each one more powerful than the previous. Then at long last the starfish-shaped monstrosity succumbed in a sphere of exploding light.

"The quantum distortion field is weakening far more than originally expected," _Templar_ added, "It may be that the overall field strength was a result of field synchronisation..."

"... In which case it may be possible to restore the gate uplink without destroying all the inhibitors," Ein finished for the ship, "Driss?"

"Already on it captain," the first officer had already keyed in the relevant variables for the calculations, "It seems we will only require the destruction of five inhibitors to restore the gate uplink."

"I may be able to improve on that slightly," _Templar_ added, "I can reconfigure the primary distortion field to neutralise and weaken the inhibitor fields further, allowing full uplink with the destruction of only three inhibitors. It will, however, reduce our defensive capability by forty percent."

"That seems a reasonable risk to take," Ein noted, "The sooner we can leave this place the better. Go ahead _Templar_, but take all necessary precautions."

There was a slight shudder as the Keeper-Destroyer initiated a micro-hyperstream jump, flashing to the next inhibitor in an instant. It wasn't long before the superstructure was engulfed in the multitude of explosions caused by _Templar_'s heavy weapons.

"The Neo-Beast appear to have guessed our objectives," Driss warned, "Keeper phase outs detected. We should be expecting..."

Before Driss could finish, the wail of the collision alarms filled the bridge again as a pair of infected Keepers phased in on _Templar_'s flanks. And then the bridge shuddered slightly as a series of infection beams raked across the distortion field.

"Confirming infection beam hits: primary distortion field down to fifty-nine point seven percent power," _Templar_ reported.

"Any signs of nanite infection?" Ein quickly asked, worried about the minute possibility.

"Negative – the quantum distortion field is impervious to phase-shifted weaponry," came the calm reply, "Initiating evasive maneouvres."

With that, _Templar_ dived violently so as to evade a second wave of infection beam attacks. The infected Keepers seemed to realise the ineffectiveness of their newly phase-shifted toys, quickly switching to conventional weaponry in a bid to deactivate _Templar_'s distortion field by force. Ion beams and nanite blasts now rained across the protective field despite the AI's best evasive attempts.

"Primary distortion field at fifty-six point seven percent power and holding," _Templar_ updated, "The infected Keepers are firing with improved accuracy. Attempting to recalibrate evasive vectors..."

The Keeper-Destroyer now took on a series of erratic banks and turns, flitting from point to point in seemingly random directions and speeds. Yet somehow the infected Keepers were always able to land hits at least four out of five times.

"Evasive vectors recalibrated – the infected Keepers are still maintaining their aim," _Templar_ reported in an almost puzzled tone.

"Wait a minute, there seem to be minute anomalies in the close range scans," Driss exclaimed upon noticing the new readings, "The anomalies seem to be focused on the outskirts of the distortion field."

"Lady Driss, distortion field energy levels and integrity are all within nominal parameters," the ship argued, "All shielding systems are operating at one hundred percent efficiency."

"I do not think there is a problem with your systems _Templar_," Driss replied as she focused the sensor scans, "It is almost as though there were some... I cannot believe this – there are Neo-Beast nanites embedded in the field!"

"Embedded?" Ein could scarcely believe his ears.

"They are adhered to the outer layer of the distortion field using a specially-calibrated quantum field at the nano level – it may be that the infected Keepers are using these nanites as trackers to aim their shots," Driss managed to say as she struggled to contain her disbelief, "To think that the Neo-Beast would be able to attain such a disturbing finesse with quantum manipulation..."

"Only a matter of time I suppose, given the way they communicate," Ein shook his head gravely at the news.

"Disabling distortion field and initiating phase-shift," _Templar_ announced as it attempted to counter this new tactic. Immediately, the translucent distortion field bubble vanished as the ship faded to become a ghostly image of its original self. In response, another series of infection beams flared out from the Keepers, only to pass harmlessly through the now-intangible _Templar_.

"Perhaps it may be wise to neutralise our attackers first and then the inhibitor," Talos mentioned nervously when he saw the ominous crimson glow of the infection beams.

"That will not be necessary – confirming the destruction of the second inhibitor," _Templar_ answered triumphantly as it gestured towards the exploding structure on the holographic display, "Target lock achieved on the last inhibitor, beginning nova pulse firing sequence. Phase-shift deactivation standing by..."

A momentary hum indicated that _Templar_ had initiated yet another micro-hyperstream jump, leaving the Neo-Beast attackers behind and bringing the last structure into plain view.

"Additional Keeper phase-outs detected," Driss warned again, "The Rebel fleet is almost completely subverted – when that happens the Neo-Beast will likely focus their attention on us."

"Accounted for," was the AI's calm reply as the ship became opaque and whole again, this time with its primary weapon deployed and ready.

"All simulation parameters have been met – initiating final mission phase," _Templar_ declared as the last inhibitor was suddenly replaced by the burning brilliance of an artificial ultraviolet star.

"Inhibitor field has weakened sufficiently – picking up quantum uplink traces!" Driss exclaimed, "The gate is initiating link-up procedures!"

"_Templar_, initiate quantum uplink overload!" Ein ordered as he strapped himself in tightly, signalling to everyone else to do the same.

"Already ahead of you sir," the ship answered in an almost gleeful manner, "Initiating ship-wide lockdown: All personnel, brace for transition."

All eyes now turned to the main viewscreen as the gate node flared open with a mighty flash of cerulean, temporarily blinding the sensors of any ships that had strayed too near.

"Jump window open, closure in three, two, one..."

A blinding dazzle lit up the gate as _Templar_ hyperstreamed directly into the portal. Before the newly-formed Neo-Beast fleet could react, the portal collapsed into a flickering ripple in the fabric of space-time.

* * *

_... How unfortunate.

* * *

  
_

Klaxons were now blaring through the bridge as the Keeper-Destroyer flung itself about violently in the quantum tunnel.

"What... the... hell... _Templar_?" Ein struggled to say amid the mighty G-forces pinning him to his seat. For the ship was now subject to such strong inertial forces in every direction that not even the dampeners were able to compensate fully. The effect was that even simple tasks such as breathing had now become Herculean efforts to every living being in the ship.

"Apologies for the discomfort, but this was the only way to make sure we were not followed," _Templar_ responded without sympathy.

"Hyperstreaming into... a gate jump?" Driss struggled to wheeze out.

"Stability issues aside, it should greatly quicken our return journey to..."

One last shudder gripped the ship as the chaotic combined swirl of hyperspace and hyperstream gave way to the familiar and comforting sights of several stellar constellations.

"... M51," _Templar_ finished as the insane G-forces finally subsided, "Destination achieved."

The ship paused, as though it were expecting some kind of applause that came at the end of a magnificent performance. Instead, there was the collective panting and wheezing of everyone trying to catch their breath and breathe normally again.

"So much for gratitude," the ship seemed to grumble as it promptly de materialised its holographic avatar.

"Captain, I may... suggest that we look into _Templar_'s... circuitry when this is done," Driss tried her best to force out words in between her laboured breaths.

"Well..." Ein was smiling at the empty space where _Templar_'s avatar used to be, "I think he had... fun while it lasted."

As if on cue, _Templar_'s avatar shimmered into view once again.

"No offence intended," Ein quickly spoke up, "I'm sure Lady Driss was joking..."

"No sir," the ship spoke in an urgent tone, "We have emerged from the gate node within the territory of the Tobari core systems."

"Why the worry? The Tobari are part of the Alliance..." Talos began.

"This is the heart of Tobari power and the most heavily populated region in the Southern Fringe," _Templar_ cut him off abruptly, "But I am detecting no communications anywhere in the sector. Not even beacons."


	31. M51 Revisited

**HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY**

**CHAPTER 29: M51 REVISITED

* * *

  
**

_Templar_ hung silently over the Tobari homeworld of New Toba, its scanners continuing to observe the devastation that had just occurred mere hours ago. If previous reconnaissance records were anything to go by, then there should be a near-unbelievable amount of traffic on the standard communications channels emanating both from the colonies' activity and the planet itself. But now, there was only an uneasy quiet.

"You do not look well Sir Talos," Driss asked the shaken Frerrn minister as she walked up to him, "Does something ail you?"

"... Do not misunderstand me," Talos finally began as he sat down on his seat slowly, "... I would have found it easier to accept if I were facing..."

"... a debris field?" Ein finished for him, his eyes still transfixed by the sight. He had seen images of these during Sir Sajuuk's briefings, from the datafiles on the Blight.

But nothing could prepare even him, a Progenitor captain, for the sight of an entirely intact defence fleet drifting aimlessly in high orbit.

The Agemo had won without firing a single shot, and he knew all too well what that meant.

The whizzing sound of the bridge doors opening broke the captain's trance.

"Doctor Piers, thank you for taking the time to come," Ein greeted the ship's doctor as he gestured towards a seat, which Piers declined politely.

"Straight to the point as always," the captain sighed, "Any updates on the subject?"

"Subject is in a state of deep coma with brain stem functions nearly non-existent," Piers answered in a matter-of-fact way, "In fact, it is a wonder he even managed to survive this long. He is on life support as we speak."

"Is there any hope for him?"

"If I had access to a full Class A medical suite then perhaps yes," came the nearly deadpan reply, "Otherwise, it is all that I can do to maintain his current condition."

"I see," Ein muttered quietly, "I trust you've read the Arkean notes? If so..."

"... the Arkean notes are of tremendous scientific interest I must say," Piers went on, having already anticipated Ein's query, "Based on the Arkean research data, I may suggest that the subject was a statistical failure in the Agemo's harvest procedure – that is to say he was one of the rare few who was not subject to a full consciousness uproot."

"So you mean he could be..."

"...cured?" Piers smiled slightly at the captain's optimism, "I would advise you to not use that word wantonly. While the consciousness uproot was not fully successful on this individual, it still managed to uproot at least ninety-percent of what makes him... him, as the Arkeans say."

"A fate worse than death," Talos uttered as he struggled to keep at bay the multitude of emotions surging within him, "Those Agemo..."

"I realise that we were not able to save your trusted aide, General Xiedo," Driss suddenly remembered, "For that, I apologise..."

"I have long since put that behind me," Talos stopped her from going on, "But we cannot allow these... atrocities to go on unchecked."

"Easier said than done Sir Talos," Piers turned to face the Frerrn Prime Minister, "What we have witnessed here is a consciousness uproot executed at the planetary level, and we are all fully aware of the one thing capable of such a feat."

"Well then, we must either destroy the abomination or die trying," Talos declared, "My people and I would certainly prefer death over becoming fuels for their atrocious war machine."

"I am fairly sure Sir Sajuuk would agree with your opinions, save for the 'death' bit," Driss commented, "That said, I believe we have spent enough time here grieving."

"Yes we have," Ein acknowledged as he saluted the dead planet and fleet in a sign of respect, "_Templar_, set a course."

"Wait," Talos raised a hand in protest, "I understand it is a priority one objective for you and your crew to bring me to Sir Sajuuk. However..."

"Speak your mind," Driss reassured.

"... I would appreciate it if we could head for Hiigara first," Talos admitted, "I believe there would be matters requiring my immediate attention and presence."

"Well..." Ein began reluctantly.

"It is not too long a detour," Driss commented after a moment's thought, "The _Eye of Aaraan_ should also quicken our journey greatly."

"I was actually more concerned about Contact policies," Ein admitted, "Rightfully, we are supposed to keep our distance from the rest of the Alliance until..."

"... until after my meeting with Sir Sajuuk?" Talos finished for the hesitant Progenitor captain, "Proper contact between the Alliance and your people is surely quite inevitable. Why would it matter if it were brought forward? Furthermore, if I understand Sir Sajuuk correctly from the descriptions you have given me, I am fairly sure he would understand the situation, especially considering the presence of the Command Megalith in M51."

"Sir Talos' suggestion is reasonable," Driss nodded in agreement, "Captain, I urge you to reconsider."

* * *

"... I regret to say that the loss of New Toba along with the rest of the Tobari core worlds has just been confirmed by preliminary scout data," Yuno bowed her head low as she spoke the words, causing a harsh silence to fall upon the gathered Alliance representatives. Even the normally stoic Vanaar seemed momentarily shaken by the news while the war-hardened General Tora sank weakly into his seat.

"It does not end there," Rei, the Nalthoran representative, spoke up suddenly, "King Ora is fleeing here in the royal flagship as we speak – just an hour ago a joint _Sajuuk_-Mythra attack force breached the Nalthoran frontier. At this rate it is only a matter of time before the New Capital falls."

"My sympathies to your people – you have all suffered much," it was Admiral Achnos' turn to speak now, "Surely this is the so-called 'tipping point' you have been waiting for Lady Yuno? Why have the Hiigarans done nothing thus far?"

"The science teams require more time," Yuno responded quickly, "As things stand now Kiir Sjet and his team are..."

"Do not mention that name before us ever again!" Achnos retorted in disgust, "The way he simply relinquished his post and responsibilities was cowardly and unforgivable!"

"You do realise that a hyperdrive capable of breaching the Eastern Wall is our only hope of contacting the Progenitors..."

"Yes yes, you have reminded us on numerous occasions," came the disinterested reply, "But even Sir Vanaar himself concedes that it is a mere possibility that the Progenitors exist beyond that barrier!"

"A _high_ possibility," Vanaar reminded the Frerrn admiral calmly.

"Very well: if you insist, a high possibility then," Achnos acknowledged, albeit sceptically, "What then? What if they refuse to intervene or assist us?"

"We will find out in due time," Yuno was trying her best to handle the situation, "Until then there is no point in this paranoia..."

"Due time? _Paranoia?_" Achnos was incredulous at the response now, "That was what you said of our Prime Minister – that searches were under way and that he would be found 'in due time'. Where is he now? And every day entire _worlds_ are lost, while you keep the Hiigaran Navy and the majority of the Alliance ships here to protect a coward's _science project_!"

"_Admiral Achnos makes valid points,"_ the booming voice of the T-MAT cut in, _"For even we are beginning to doubt the efficacy of the current master plan."_

"Well..." Yuno was at a loss for words now.

"Lady Yuno," Syne spoke up now, having realised that his efforts at consoling the distraught Tobari general were in vain, "Speaking for the people who have lost _everything_ once again, surely it is not an unreasonable request to pull back the Vaygr Crusades from the _Eye of Aaraan_?"

"We cannot do that!" Yuno exclaimed in protest, "If the Agemo and Mythra were able to get hold of the _Eye..._"

"... All observations of their behaviour have pointed to the contrary – that they are completely ignorant of hyperspace physics," Syne cut back in with a growl, struggling to hold back his own tears, "I suppose Kiir Sjet has been ruling from the shadows has he? Using you as a front when he is too cowardly to show his face..."

"No, it is not what you think..." Yuno made an attempt to protest, knowing full well that the game was now up.

"_... That is enough, Yuno,"_ a familiar voice echoed through the room as a viewscreen flashed online, revealing the long-lost face of Kiir Sjet. Almost immediately, the present delegates erupted in a chaotic cacophony.

_So finally you emerge from the shadows_, Vanaar smiled slightly, _I suppose my persistence has paid off in some way then?_

_It had nothing to do with you - now shut up and listen,_ came the mental reply, _"If I would have silence for just a minute..."_

"You have no right to even broadcast yourself into this very room!" Achnos spat, "Why, if I had my way..."

_WHEN THE HIIGARAN ASKS FOR SILENCE YOU WOULD ALL DO WELL TO COMPLY,_ the blast yelled into the conscious minds of everyone present. All eyes turned to Vanaar in the back, who in turn regarded the mob with a face that implied the imminent use of extensive telekinetics.

"Damned Vaygr..." Achnos muttered as he took his place and turned reluctantly towards the screen.

"_Thank you,"_ Kiir nodded slightly at the Vaygr-Khar, who responded with a casual shrug of his massive shoulders, _"I realise I owe all the Alliance representatives an apology..."_

"Cut to the chase Hiigaran," Achnos growled, "This is no confession room."

"_If you insist..."_ Kiir seemed to sigh as he began uploading several detailed schematics to the personal consoles of all the Alliance representatives present.

"_I am fully aware that attacks from both Mythra and Agemo forces have inflicted considerable attrition on all Allliance forces, and as such we are already operating on reduced crew protocols to counter the manpower shortage we are now facing,"_ Kiir stated the grim context, _"Therefore I would seek the approval from the delegates here to bring into full production the Rapier class heavy fighter."_

"It is mentioned here in the plans that this was the result of a joint project between Hiigaran and Vaygr scientists?" Rei asked suspiciously.

"_I understand the concerns, but in desperate times such as these surely we are able to put aside our differences for the duration,"_ came the slightly exasperated reply, _"To continue – the Rapier is based on an enlarged and more heavily-armoured Blade hull for added survivability and weapons space. Its primary weapon is a scaled-down turbopulsar cannon..."_

"We do not have all day to listen to your lecture," Syne interrupted impatiently.

"_... If you insist,"_ Kiir paused to take a deep breath before continuing, _"Rapier is a fully-automated AI fighter."_

An uneasy quiet fell over the representatives when the taboo words were mentioned. Nearly every galactic power had encountered the cybernetic disruptions of Mythra spies and had hence, as a result, halted all advances into AI-based derivatives so as to reduce their vulnerabilities against notorious Mythra hacking. And now Kiir Sjet had actually gone so far as to suggest a heavy dependence on an AI-based fighter platform.

"_... While the premise is sound, we of the T-MAT have our concerns,"_ the Unbound spoke up after several seconds' consideration, _"These design schematics include an advanced thrust vectoring system coupled with, and this is most clever for Bound personae, what appears to be a miniaturised hyperphase drive system."_

"_That is correct," _Kiir responded, _"The thrust vectoring system is intended to work in tandem with the hyperphase drive to create a fighter platform with unprecedented speed and manoeuvrability."_

"_And you arm it with a combination of your turbopulsar weapons and Vaygr plasma shard technology,"_ the T-MAT seemed worried now, _"Even we have never dared to place so much power in the hands of an automation."_

"_I do assure you that multiple safeguards are in place,"_ Kiir attempted to reassure the uneasy crowd, _"The Rapier platform will only accept data inputs in the launch bay, so any hacking attempts made during the Rapier's operations will fail owing to the data input system being physically shut down for the duration. In addition to that, it utilises quantum encryption for all of its operating systems, so any Mythra or Agemo brute force attempts can be expected to require, at the very least, several decades to succeed. This is well in excess of any expected operational time frame of the Rapier. As a final safeguard, the Rapier's computer core is itself protected by no fewer than three quantum keys that can be changed after every operation, so that the net possibility of a hostile breach is effectively zero."_

"_What you have done is simply to move the point of weakness from the fighter to the carrier,"_ the T-MAT countered, _"We imagine that the Agemo and Mythra would have no problems compromising the host carrier if they see fit."_

"_What plans do not come with their risks?"_ the Hiigaran responded in a slightly exasperated tone.

"_You confuse calculated risks with outright unnecessary risks flicker life,"_ the T-MAT seemed displeased now, _"We reject the proposal."_

"_And the other representatives?"_ Kiir asked as he looked around the room. Unsurprisingly, all but the Vaygr were unanimous in rejecting the plan.

"_A pity," _Kiir mused, _"Yuno, play the recording now."_

The meeting room dimmed as an Agemo megalith flickered into view on the main viewscreen, eliciting shocked gasps from the representatives present.

"_The recording was taken from an observatory Rapier platform,"_ Kiir explained, _"It was observing and recording the combat performance of a Rapier squadron of five."_

"_You are mad,"_ the T-MAT boomed, _"To unsheathe the blade prematurely before the Agemo!"_

Kiir did not answer, choosing instead to let the audience view the rest of the recording. The megalith, having spotted the approaching squadron long ago, began firing off its point defence weaponry, sending lines and bolts of energy streaking towards the fighters. But before the flurry of firepower could arrive the ships seemed to vanish, reappearing in plain view some distance from their original position and maintaining formation.

"_Micro hyperphase jump," _Kiir explained to the stunned watchers.

Now the fighters moved into attack vectors, advancing quickly towards the megalith while easily evading all the incoming point defence fire. Even Vanaar seemed impressed by the results, observing that the Rapiers were so fast it seemed as though they were _teleporting_ from point to point during evasive manoeuvres, all while maintaining a steady forward course.

"These... these movements..." Syne uttered in disbelief, "Impossible! Inertia..."

"_... is non-existent on the Rapier platform,"_ Kiir stated with a smile on his face.

"But no such AI could possibly exist..." Admiral Achnos managed to say as he stared incredulously at the flickering fighters.

"_The Rapier AI was based on combat data gathered from hundreds of ace pilots throughout the Inner Rim,"_ the scientist stated proudly, _"Combined with an evolving neural network and personality snapshots of a few current Alliance legends, you have the ultimate fighter pilot unmatched for... maybe the next few centuries."_

"I begin to understand now why you lobbied so hard for AI-based controls," Vanaar conceded, "I imagine that even with boosted inertia dampeners no organic pilot could hope to survive the g-forces associated with such... manoeuvres."

By now the Rapiers had moved within firing range of the megalith, letting loose plasma shards and turbopulsar blasts at the monolithic hull of the Agemo ship. However, any damage done to the otherwise pristine hull armour of the megalith was utterly insignificant in view of the ship's sheer size.

"_The test flight revealed that at the fighter level, calibrated turbopulsar and plasma shard blasts were marginally effective against Agemo hull armour,"_ Kiir added as the representatives remained transfixed by the recording, _"This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it means that scaled up capital ship versions of the weapons should be capable of inflicting serious hurt on even the Agemo. I would take the chance to recommend that all Alliance ships have their pulse and kinetic cannons replaced with turbopulsar or plasma shard cannons as soon as possible."_

"A clearly transparent ploy for a Hiigara-Vaygr weapons monopoly," Rei muttered under his breath.

_An interesting conspiracy theory indeed,_ Vanaar spoke aloud into the Nalthoran's mind, letting him know that his comment had not gone unheard.

"_Lastly, I will demonstrate a supplementary weapon to the Frerrn antimatter hypervelocity missiles,"_ Kiir announced as he gestured towards the recording again. A quick change in the viewing angle quickly revealed warhead hardpoints on the underside of the Rapiers' wings. The AI of the fighter craft seemed fully aware of the megalith's potent anti-missile point defences, choosing to approach so closely that the Rapiers were barely skimming the hull surface, all the while maintaining their erratic evasive 'teleports.'

The next moment, the megalith was a large spear in the distance as the Rapiers suddenly made a long-range retreat on hyperphase drive. Then a series of no fewer than ten cerulean spheres erupted all across the megalith's hull.

"_... Quantum cascade reactions!"_ even the T-MAT's collective voices sounded genuinely shocked.

"_I understand I may have violated many taboos regarding the use of hyperspace technology as weapons,"_ Kiir seemed slightly regretful at the fact, _"But as they say: desperate times call for desperate measures."_

With that, the recording ended and the room lights reverted to their normal brightness. No sooner had this happened did the representatives erupt in outrage once again.

"This is in violation of the Council's strategic weapons treaty!"

"Quantum cascade warheads today, maybe planet-killing weapons tomorrow?"

"War criminal!"

"Looks like the Hiigarans are no better than the Agemo!"

"_And it looks like little has changed even in the face of complete obliteration,"_ a familiar voice suddenly boomed from the intercom, causing the Frerrn delegation to look up in amazement.

"This..." Admiral Achnos was stuttering, "This is..."

"_Yuno?"_ Kiir looked to her holographic avatar for answers.

"... the transmission is being forced through the Grand Shipyard's systems," Yuno answered as she closed her eyes in fierce concentration, "All attempts to halt the hacking have failed. I am attempting to trace the source..."

_Surely you must have felt it,_ Vanaar commented mentally to Kiir.

_Yes I did, _Kiir nodded,_ I've acquainted to the effect so the mental shock does not occur. It's exactly the same as the previous time, but I had not anticipated it to be this close..._

_I imagine we'd become better judges of distance with time,_ Vanaar noted.

"Priority alert, the sensor grid has just picked up a Progenitor Keeper approaching from beyond high orbit!" Yuno exclaimed.

"_How in Kharak's name did it manage to get so close?" _Kiir demanded, _"Was it cloaked?"_

"Negative – it appears they are using some derivative of phasing technology to remain out of phase with reality," came the reply, "Its intangibility makes it difficult for even proximity scanners to identify."

"_Status of the defence forces?"_

"As we speak Admiral Eefrit has issued a scramble alert throughout our forces, while the other Alliance ships are moving into attack formations."

"_Attention to all representatives of the Alliance,"_ the voice cut in again, _"This is Prime Minister Talos. I am onboard the Progenitor Keeper-Destroyer _Templar_ and they mean you all no harm. Please stand down immediately."_

"Prime Minister Talos," Admiral Achnos finally spoke up, "Is that really you, sir?"

"_If I do not usurp myself, I am,"_ came the reply as the main viewscreen flickered to life again, but this time not on Yuno's will. Upon seeing that the Frerrn Prime Minister was safe and sound, the Frerrn delegation seemed to heave a collective sigh of relief. Then relief was quickly replaced by awe when they noticed the sleek bridge of the ship and the various Progenitor officers moving around in alien uniforms.

"_There is much to discuss, but little time," _Talos continued quickly, _"Kiir Sjet – requesting permission to dock with the Grand Shipyard?"_

"_Granted,"_ came the reply, _"I will come over at once to meet you in person."

* * *

  
_

When the doors of the meeting room slid open, the gathered delegates of the Alliance rose immediately to welcome the unexpected guests. As Prime Minister Talos entered the room, the various delegates began applauding the safe return of the leader of the Frerrn Aggregate. Admiral Achnos himself marched straight up towards Talos to salute his superior smartly. A few whispers were exchanged, following which Achnos nodded grimly before showing Talos to his seat.

With the entrance of Captain Ein and Lady Driss however, the applause was quickly replaced with a heavy and uneasy silence. Unsurprised by the delegations' reactions, Ein cleared his throat calmly and walked right up to the central conference table.

"I am Captain Ein of the Progenitor Keeper-Destroyer _Templar_," he began matter-of-factly before gesturing towards Driss at his side, "To my right is Lady Driss – First Officer and Second-in-command of _Templar_._"_

Driss bowed slightly as a polite gesture, hoping to break the silence but to no avail.

"Many of you will find our meeting sudden and unexpected, perhaps even _terrifying_, and I can understand the rationale behind those reactions," Ein continued as he glanced at everyone present, with Vanaar's imposing figure and Yuno's holographic avatar catching his eye, "With time, I expect that this fear and uncertainty will give way as we forge closer ties in working together. However, time is a luxury which we do not have."

At this juncture, the doors slid open and Kiir Sjet slipped in silently, causing a multitude of whispering and murmurs among the representatives themselves. Noticing the Progenitor officers, he gave them a polite bow before moving calmly towards Vanaar and Yuno.

"I believe that everyone present here has encountered the destructive entities known as the Mythra and the Agemo," Driss began as she rested her hand on an interface panel on the table, allowing her wrist communicator to begin interfacing wirelessly with the inbuilt computer, "I also believe that they have announced their intentions to 'Modify' this galaxy and have requested for all resisting forces to stand down?"

Several scattered nods throughout the gathered delegations acknowledged the accuracy of Driss' statement, accompanied by several hushed whispers.

"Kiir Sjet," Driss continued, turning her gaze to the Hiigaran scientist standing between Yuno and Vanaar, "You are a rare genius among your people and your developments have allowed the Hiigaran Navy to approach, sometimes even equal our own capabilities. While I concede that those are impressive achievements, you must bear in mind that the foe you are up against is no less impressive either."

The room lights dimmed once more as another recorded video lit up the main viewscreen. Talos recognised it immediately as the one Driss had shown him on the sly before.

"Allow me to introduce the concept of 'consciousness transfer'..."

* * *

"_You realise that your complacency was the cause of this debacle?"_ the hologram of a hooded figure boomed with clearly evident displeasure, _"The near-destruction of Megalith Four is unforgivable, and if not by virtue of your past successes you would be rotting in scum vessels right now!"_

"It was indeed an oversight on my part and it will not happen again my lord," Voer acknowledged apologetically and meekly as he maintained his prone, submissive position before his superior. Having assumed the form of a young Taiidani, he no longer found any difficulty in kneeling unlike in his previous, nearly disintegrated vessel.

"_Indeed, such an incident can and will NOT happen again,"_ the figure emphasised, _"Though, it still irks me that we had to bring the _Nexus _in prematurely as a result of your disgusting carelessness..."_

"I have made plans to show my sincere repentance my lord," Voer continued to grovel, "Our scouts have discovered the core of what seems to be a galaxy-wide network of quantum gates."

"_Galaxy-wide, you say?"_

"Yes my lord," Voer answered, "Initial analysis shows great promise – each individual gate can be recalibrated and attuned specifically to the relevant quantum frequencies."

"_Most interesting,"_ the hooded figure considered the thought for a while, _"So it seems there may be redemption for you yet – I will want a full detailed analysis and report within the next hundred hours, as well as the securing of the relevant gate installations. A second failure will not be tolerated. Is that clear?"_

"Yes my lord – Voer understands and complies," the Agemo kept his head low as the hologram faded from view.

"To think that I still have to play second fiddle to you," Voer uttered angrily as he got up and moved towards his implant chamber – for his body was so new there hadn't been time to implant all the necessary devices that would allow him to wirelessly interface with the ship, "You will come to regret that attitude with time, Noyle."

"_Someone sounds quite bitter, methinks," _the voice emanated suddenly from a shadowed corner of the vast hall.

"Who's there?" Voer demanded as he whirled around and tried to trace the noise with the primitive biological ears he had, "Show yourself!"

"No need to get all flustered I assure you," the voice continued as footsteps began sounding from the shadow, "Though, it is perfectly understandable. I imagine you must feel very naked without all those implants you so require."

From the darkness stepped a humanoid of medium build. From the muscled form of his upper arms Voer deduced the person to be a warrior of sorts. Moving calmly to a manual console, he tapped a few buttons to initiate a scan of the mysterious one.

"I trust you will not be offended by this," Voer commented calmly as the scanning beams enveloped the individual, who shrugged nonchalantly in the lights criss-crossing his self. When Voer saw the results of the scan, his eyes widened slightly.

"So... Sajuuk and his Progenitor scum must've sent you here," Voer smiled slyly as the figure was immediately ensnared and suspended in the air by a series of force fields, "I do assure you however, that we have long since developed... countermeasures to this form of attack."

"Sajuuk?" the person seemed amused by the name, "You are very much mistaken dear sir. I am here yes, but not of his or their wills."

"Really?" Voer was surprised by the answer.

"I assure you I will do you no harm," the individual continued, "In fact, would you be so kind as to disable these restraints? They do get in the way slightly..."

No sooner had he finished speaking did the force fields vanish without trace, dropping him unceremoniously from mid-air. Unfazed by the fall, he simply landed gracefully on both feet.

"Thank you very much kind sir," the person continued, "On to business – I wish to negotiate a cooperative arrangement with you."

"Cooperative arrangement?" Voer's ears perked up, "Could you elaborate?"

"You seem to be having, shall we say, issues with the resistance in this galaxy thus far," the figure smiled at the possessed Taiidan before him, "Your issues with your superior are quite apparent as well. I would thus like to offer a helping hand in your deeds."

"A helping hand?" Voer chuckled slightly, "Surely there must be some ulterior motive afoot – what is it you seek in return?"

"Nothing at all," came the calm reply, "Because by allowing me to assist you you would allow me to nurse an old grudge I have."

"A grudge, you say?"

"It is a sensitive issue," the person dismissed any further discussion on the matter, "Surely you are not averse to this offer?"

"But what have you that could possibly help in my endeavours?" Voer's eyes seemed to glint at the mysterious one.

"Plentiful I assure you," came the reply, "All I want is to help, and therefore an assurance that you would leave me alone when we're done."

The figure paused for a moment, as if to consider something of importance to his well-being, then turned and fixed his full gaze upon Voer, "What say you? Have we a deal?"

"... I have my doubts still, but you seem fairly confident about putting those doubts to rest," Voer acknowledged the figure with a smile, "That said, what are we without introductions? You may call me Voer."

"Some once knew me as Luca Paktu, but that is quite a mouthful is it not?" the humanoid replied as he made a courteous bow, "You may also call me Kaark. Pleased to make your acquaintance."


End file.
